


THE 



HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS 



APPOINTED BY THE 



MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES AND OTHER PUBLIC BODIES, 
FROM 1770 TO 1852; 



COMPRISING 



HISTOEICAL GLEANINGS, 



ILLUSTRATING TUE 



PRINCIPLES AND PROGRESS OF OUR REPUBLICAN INSTITUTIONS. 



BY JAMES SPEAR LORING. 



" I would have these orations collected and printed in volumes, and then write the history of the last 
forty-five years in commentaries upon them." John Adams, in 1816. 

" The precious spark of liberty had been kindled and was preserved by the Puritans alone ; * * • 
jmd it was to this sect that the English owe the whole freedom of their constitution." David Hume. 



SECOND EDITION ENLARGED. 

BOSTON: 

JOHN P. JEWETT AND COMPANY. 

CLEVELAND, OHIO: 

JEWETT, PROCTOR & WORTfflNGTON. 

1853. 



h73 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, 

By JAMES Sl'KAR LORING, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



STEREOirrED BY 

HOBART & ROBBIXS, 

SEW ENGLAND TYrS AND STERKOTYPK FOUSDiiBY, 
BOSTON, 



A WOED TO THE EEADER, 



The editor, after a careful research, pursued with an 
intense devotion during a period of nearly four years, pre- 
sents this volume to the public, and here takes occasion 
to dedicate its pages to the glorious memory of Samuel 
Adams, John Hancock and Thomas Gushing, a noble trium- 
virate, and among the foremost of the great promoters of the 
American Revolution. Aspiring to no higher claim than 
that of editor, he remarks, in addition to what has been 
stated atsthe close of the introduction on the Boston Mas- 
sacre, — of which event Daniel Webster emphasizes, " from 
that moment we may date the severance of the British 
empire," — that he has embodied a great mass of materials 
in relation to our own political and national history, after 
poring over valuable manuscripts, newspapers printed for 
more than a hundred years past, every variety of periodicals, 
pamphlets, and a multitude of other authorities essential to 
the completion of his design. The editor has generally been 
careful to cite authorities ; but sometimes through inadvert- 
ence, sometimes for the reason that writers have adopted the 
language and statements of others as original, he has not 



IV A WORD TO THE READER. 

designated authorities. A great disparity in the sketches of 
the orators will be observed. In the gathering of materials, 
the editor has mostly been thrown on his own resources. 
While, by interviews with parties interested, a great body 
of original matter has been obtained in relation to a large 
number of the orators, very meagre materials only, like a 
monumental inscription, could be gathered in regard to 
others ; and this is an apology for what may, at the first 
blush, appear an act of injustice to some of the most worthy 
politicians in the catalogue ; — but there runs through the 
volume such frequent allusions to the same person, that 
they partially atone for the scanty materials of a separate 
article. Notwithstanding the vigilance of the editor, many 
errors appear in the work ; but, to adopt the language of 
Cotton Mather, "it seems the hands of Briareus and the 
eyes of Argus will not prevent them." 
Boston, March 5, 1852. 



CONTENTS 



Pi.GR 

The Massacre of March o, 1770 1 

1771. March 5. Thomas Young. Boston Massacre 24 

1771. April 2. Jajies Lovell. Do 29 

1772. March 5. Joseph Warrex. Do 45 

1773. March 8. Benjamin Church. Do 37 

1774. March 5. John Hancock. Do 72 

1775. March 5. Joseph Warren. Do 59 

1776. March 6. Peter Thacher. Do 122 

April 8. Perez Morton. Over the Remains of Warren. . . . 127 

1777. March 5. Benjamin* Hichborn. Boston Massacre 130 

1778. March 5. Jonathan Williams Austin. Do 133 

1779. March 5. William Tudor. Do 135 

1780. March 5. Jonathan M.ison. Do 139 

1781. March 5. Thomas Dawes. Do 141 

1782. March 5. George PvICHards Minot. Do 146 

1783. March 5. Thomas Welsh. Do 154 

July 4. John AVarren. Town Orator. National Independence. . .156 

1784. July 4. Benjamin Hichborn. Do 167 

1785. July 4. John Gardiner. Do 168 

1786. July 4. Jonathan Loring Austin. Do 172 

1787. July 4. Thomas Bavtes. Do 182 

John Brooks. Mass. Soc. of Cincinnati 1&4 

1788. July 4. Harrison Gray Otis. Town Orator 188 

William Hull. Mass. Soc. of Ci^;icLnnati. . . • • 218 

1789. July 4. Samuel Stillman. Town Orator 222 

Samuel Whitwell. j\Iass. Soc. of Cincinnati. . • • 228 

1790. July 4. Edward Gray. Town Orator 229 

William Tudor. Mass. Soc. of Cincinnati 229 

1791. July 4. Thomas Crafts, Jr. Town Orator 230 

1* 



1792. 


July 4. 


1793. 


July 4. 


1794. 


July 4. 


1795. 


July 4. 


1796. 


July 4. 


1797. 


July 4. 


1798. 


July 4. 


1799. 


July 4. 




July 17. 




Dec. 29. 


1800. 


Feb. 8. 




Feb. 11. 




Feb. 19. 




July 4. 


1801. 


July 4. 


1802. 


July 4. 


1803. 


July 4. 


1804. 


July 4. 


1805. 


July 4. 



VI CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

Joseph Blake, Jr. Town Orator 231 

John Quincy Adams. Do. 233 

John Phillips. Do. 248 

George Blake. Do 253 

John Lathkop. Do 255 

John Callendek. Do 257 

JosiAH Quincy. Do 258 

John Lowell. Do 278 

Robert Treat Paine. Young Men of Boston 283 

John Thornton Kirkland. Eulogy on AVashington. . . 287 

Fisher Ames. State Eulogy on Washington 291 

Timothy Bigelow. Mass. Grand Lodge 298 

John Davis. American Academy of Ai-ts and Sciences. . . 304 

Joseph Hall. Town Orator 307 

Charles Paine. Do 310 

William Emerson. Do 311 

William Sullivan. Do 313 

Thojl\s Danforth. Do 320 

Warren Dutton. Do 321 

Ebenezer French. Young Republicans 322 

1806. July 4. Francis Dana Channing. Town Orator 322 

Joseph Gleason. Young Republicans 323 

Peter Oxenbridge TiLiCHER. Town Orator. . • . . 323 

Andrew Ritchie, Jr. Do 325 

Charles Pinckney Sumner. Young Republicans. . . . 325 

William Tudor. Town Orator 333 

David Everett. Bunker Hill Association 337 

William Charles White. Do 344 

Alexander Townsend. Town Orator 349 

Daniel Waldo Lincoln. Bunker Hill Association. . . 351 

James Savage. Town Orator 353 

Henry A. S. Dearborn. Bunker Hill Association. . . . 360 

Benjamin Pollard. Town Orator 365 

Edward St. Loe Livermore. Do 867 

Benjamin Whitwell. Do 3C8 

Horace Holley. AVashington Benevolent Society. . . 368 

Lemuel Shaw. Town Orator. 375 

William Gale. Washington Society 381 

1816. July 4. George Sullivan. Town Orator 381 

AsiiUR Ware. Washington Society 382 

1817. July 4. Edward Tyrell Channing. Town Orator 384 

1818. July 4. Francis Galley Gray. Do 385 



1807. 


July 4. 


1808. 


July 4. 




July 4. 


1809. 


July 4. 




July 4. 




July 4. 


1810. 


July 4. 


1811. 


July 4. 


1812. 


July 4. 


1813. 


July 4. 


1814. 


July 4. 


1815. 


Apr. 30 




July 4. 



CONTENTS. 



VII 



1819. 


July 4. 


1820. 


July 4. 


1821. 


July 4. 


1822. 


July 4. 


1823. 


July 4. 


1824. 


July 4. 


1825. 


July 4. 


1826. 


July 4. 




Aug. 2. 




Aug. 6. 


1827. 


July 4. 


1828. 


Jan. 8. 




July 4. 


1829. 


M'ch 4. 




July 4. 


1830. 


July 4. 


1831. 


July 4. 




July 11 


1832. 


July 4. 



Feankxin Dextek. Town Orator. . 
Samuel Adams Wells. Washington Society. 



1833. July 4. 



1834. July 4. 



1835. 



Sept. 6. 
July 4. 



Theodore Lyman. Town Orator. . 
Henry Orne. Washington Society. . 
Charles Greely Lokino. Town Orator. 
Gerry Fairbanks. Washington Society. 
John Chipman Gray. City Orator. . 
Charles Pelham Curtis. Do. . 
Russell Jaevis. Washington Society. . 
Joseph Bartlett. Volunteer. . 
Francis Bassett. City Orator. 
John Everett. Washington Society. 
Charles Sprague. City Orator. . 

J0SLA.H QUINCY. Do 



David Lee Child. Washington Society. 
Daniel Webster. Eulogy on Adams and Jefierson. . 
Samuel Lorenzo Knapp. Young Men of Boston. . 
William Powell Mason. City Orator. 
Nathaniel Greene. Battle of New Orleans. . 

Bradford Sumner. City Orator 

James Davis Knowles. Baptist Churches. 
Joseph Hardy Prince. Washington Society. 
John Warren James. Inauguration of Jackson. . 
James Trecothic Austin. City Orator. 
Charles Gordon Greene. Washington Society. 
ALEX.4.NDER HiLL EvERETT. City Orator. . 
Henry Barney Smith. Washington Society. . 

John Gorham Palfrey. City Orator 

William Foster Otis. Young Men of Boston. 
Timothy Fuller. Anti-Masonic. .... 

Josiah Quincy, Jr. City Orator 

Edward Goldsborough Prescott. Boston Regiment. 
Andrew Dunlap. Washington Society. . 
Edward Goldsborough Prescott. City Orator. 
John Wade, Jr. Washington Society. 
Amasa Walker. Twelve Young Men's Societies. 
Caleb Gushing. Amer. Colonization Society. . 
Richard Sullivan Fay. City Orator. 
Frederick Robinson. Boston Trades Union. . 
Edward Everett. Eulogy on Lafayette. 
George Stillman Hillard. City Orator. 



VIII CONTENTS. 

PAOK 

1835. July 4. Jerome Van Crowningshield Smith. South Boston. . . 651 

Theophilijs Fiske. Boston Trades Union 555 

Oct. 15. Joseph Stort. Eulogy on Chief Justice Marshall. . . . 555 

1836. July 4. Henry Willis Kins>lvn. City Orator 564 

David Henshaw. People of Massachusetts 564 

Edward Cruft. Washington Society 570 

1837. July 4. Jonathan CnAPM-iN. City Orator, 571 

1838. July 4. Hubbard Winslow. Do 570 

William Lloyd Garrison. Mass. Anti-Slavery Society. . .577 

1839. July 4. Ivers James Austin. City Orator 584 

1840. July 4. Thomas Power. Do 586 

1841. Apr. 21. RuFus Choate. Eulogy on President Harrison. . . . 588 
July 4. George Ticknor Curtis. City Orator 595 

1842. July 4. Horace Mann. Do 598 

1843. July 4. Charles Francis Adams. Do 609 

1844. July 4. Peleg Whitman Chandler. Do 613 

1845. July 4. Charles Sumner. Do 617 

July 9. Pliny INIerrick. Eulogy on President Jackson. . . . 635 
Oct. 15. Robert Charles Winthrop. Merc. Lib. Assoc 688 

1846. July 4. Fletcher Webster. City Orator 648 

1847. July 4. Thomas Greaves Cary. Do 653 

1848. July 4. Joel Giles. Do 656 

1849. July 4. William Whitwell Greenough. Do 658 

July 25. Levi Woodbury. Eulogy on President Polk 660 

1850. July 4. Edwin Percy Whipple. City Orator 664 

1861. July 4. Charles Theodore Russell. Do 670 

1852. July 5. Thomas Starr King 670 



THE 



HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 



To the sages -who spoke, 

To the heroes vrho bled, 
To the day and the deed. 

Strike the harp-strings of glory ! 
Let the song of the ransomed 

Kemember the dead, 
And the tongue of the eloquent 

Hallow the story. 
O'er the bones of the bold 

Be that story long told. 
And on Fame's golden tablets 

Their triumphs enrolled. 
Who on Freedom's green hills 

Freedom's banner unfurled. 
And the beacon-fire raised 

That gave light to the world. 

Sprague. 

"The origin of our national independence may be traced to the native 
fervid sense of freedom," says Tudor, "-wliich our ancestors brought 
with them, and fostered in the forests of America, and which, with 
pious care, they taught their offspring never to forego;" and it was 
not until the expiration of one century and a half that the colonists 
inflexibly resolved to govern themselves, uncontrolled by the mother 
country. Innumerable tendencies accelerated this determination. The 
noble wife of the elder Adams, in writing to Mrs. Cranch, remarked, 
with laudable pride: — "Amongst those who voted against receiving 
an explanatory charter, in the Massachusetts, stands the name of our 
venerable grandfather Quincy, accompanied with only one other, to his 
immortal honor." By vesting the governor with the veto power, 
opposing an elected speaker of the house, and forbidding them to adjourn 
at their own option more than two days, King George the First 
1 



2 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

inflicted a fatal Avound on the dominant power of Old England over 
New England, and showed himself unworthy an aspiration of holy 
George Herbert, in the days of the ]Ma}^ower Pilgrims, — 

" Religion stands on tiptoe in our land, 
Ready to pass to the American strand ! " 

It is evident, however, that Madam Adams was mistaken regarding 
the minority. On turning to the records of the council, we find there 
were four who voted in the negative ; and the records of the house 
exliibit the names of thirty-two who negatived also the acceptance of 
this oppressive charter. As it will gratify the descendants of this 
honored minority to know this fact of their ancestors, we have carefully 
transcribed their names. The record is dated Jan. 15, 1725 : Isaiah 
Tay, Wilham Clark, Esq., Ezekiel Lewis, Thomas Gushing, Boston; 
John Wadsworth, Milton; John Quincy, Esq., Bramtree; John Torrey, 
Weymouth; Capt. Thomas Loring, Hingham; John Brown, Mendon; 
Edward A\nute, Brookline ; John Sanders, Haverhill ; John Hobson, 
Rowley ; Benjamin Barker, Andover ; Joseph Hale, Boxford ; Samuel 
Tenney, Bradford ; Capt. WilHam Rogers, Wenham ; Joseph Davis, 
Amesbury ; Richard Ward, Newton ; John Rice, Sudbury ; Capt. 
Samuel Bullard, Sherburne ; Joseph Wilder, Lancaster ; Capt. Edward 
Goddard, Framingham ; John Blanchard, Billerica ; Daniel Pierce, 
Woburn ; Jonathan Sargent, Maiden ; Samuel Chamberlain, Chelmsford ; 
Thomas Bryant, Scituate ; Nathaniel Southworth, Middleboro' ; Isaac 
Cushman, Plympton ; Ehsha Bisby, Pemln-oke ; Edward Shove, 
Dighton ; William Stone, Norton. There were forty-eight in the 
affirmative. 

According to Pemberton's Massachusetts Chronicle, — a manuscript 
of great value, in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society, — 
in an article regarding the odious Writs of Assistance to the oflScers of 
the customs, it is stated that the power of the Court of Exchequer had 
never been exercised by the Superior Court, for a period of about 
sixty years after the act of this province investing them with such 
power had been in force. The wiit, which was the first instance of 
their exercising that power now gi-antcd, was never requested ; or, if 
Bohcitcd, was constantly denied for this long course of years, until 
Charles Paxton, Esq., the Commissioner of the Revenue, apphed for it 
in 1754. It was granted by the court m 1756, sub silcjitio, and 
continued until the demise of George the Second. 



THE MASSACRE. 3 

The first clarion notes that aroused to independence were sounded 
by the patriotic James Otis, in the February term of 1761, of the 
Superior Court, in the council-chamber of the town-house, where he 
delivered an eloquent argument in opposition to the arbitrary Writs of 
Assistance. The elder Adams said that Otis "burst forth as with a 
flame of fire, and every man was made ready to take arms against it." 
The name of Liberty-tree owes its origin to a popular gathering under 
its branches, Aug. 14, 1765, expressive of indignation at revenue 
oppressions. The event, however, which most eflfectually inflamed 
popular wrath, was that of the fifth of March, 1770, when five citi- 
zens were killed in King-street by regulars of the standing army. 
The people were resolved to assert their rights, though rivers of blood 
rolled down that street. The patriotic Lathrop, of the Second 
Church, delivered a warm sermon on the Sabbath after the event ; and 
in another, in 1778, said, "The inhabitants of these States must have 
been justified by the impartial world, had they resolved, from that 
moment, never to suffer one in the livery of George the Third to walk 
this ground." 

The immediate origin of the massacre was an attack of a mob on 
the sentinel who was stationed before the custom-house at the corner 
of Royal Exchange Lane, Avhere the king's treasure was deposited. 
The regular loaded his gun, and retreated up the steps as far as he 
could, and often shouted for protection. A corporal and six privates 
of the main guard, stationed near the head of King-street, directly 
opposite the door on the south side of the town-house, were sent 
to his relief, who, after being grossly insulted and attacked, fired upon 
the crowd. Three men were instantly killed, five men were danger- 
ously Avounded, and several slightly injured. 

The most exciting causes which urged to a decided disaffection in 
the people of Boston towards the mother country may be traced to 
the circumstances related in the narrative of the town, pubhshed 
shortly after the massacre. Wliile the town was surrounded by 
British ships of war, two regiments landed, Oct. 1, 1768, and took 
possession of it ; and, to support these, two other regiments arrived, 
some time after, from Ireland, one of which landed at Castle Island, 
and the other in the town. They were forced upon the people con- 
trary to the spirit of the Magna Charta, — contrary to the very letter 
of the bill of rights, in which it is declared that the raising or keeping 
a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be 



4 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

with the consent of Parliament, is against law, — and without the desire 
of the civil magistrates, to aid whom was the pretence for sending the 
troops hither. The conduct of this military force in Boston was 
highly aggravating. Gov. Bernard, without consulting the Council, 
having given up the state-house to the troops at their landing, they 
took possession of the chambers where the representatives of the 
province and the courts of law held their meetings, and (except the 
council-chamber) of all other parts of that house, in which they con- 
tinued a considerable time, to the great annoyance of those courts 
while they sat, and of the merchants and gentlemen of the town, who 
had always used its lower floor as their exchange. They had a right 
so to do, as the property of it was in the town ; but they were deprived 
of that right by mere power. The governor, soon after, by every 
stratagem, and by every method but a forcible entry, endeavored to 
obtain possession of the manufactory house, to make a barrack of it 
for the troops ; and for that purpose caused it to be besieged by the 
troops, and the people in it to be used with severity, which created 
universal uneasiness, arising from the apprehension that the troops, 
under the influence of such a man, would be employed to cfiect the 
most dangerous purposes ; but, failing of that, other houses were pro- 
cured, in which, contrary to act of Parliament, he caused the troops 
to be quartered. After their quarters were settled, the main guard 
was posted at one of the said houses, directly opposite the state-house, 
and not twelve yards distant, where the General Court and all the law 
courts were held, with two field-pieces pointed to the state-house. 
This situation of the main guard and field-pieces seemed to indicate 
an attack upon the constitution, and a defiance of the law, and to be 
intended to affi'ont the legislative and executive authority of the prov- 
ince. 

When the Superior Court met at the state-house, Nov. 1, 1769, 
a motion was made by James Otis, Esq., one of the bar, that the 
court would adjourn to Faneuil Hall, not only as the stench occasioned 
by the regulars in the representatives' chamber may prove infectious, 
but as it was derogatory to the honor of the court to administer justice 
at the mouths of cannon and the points of bayonets. 

In a new hberty song at this period, it was sung, — tune "Kule 
Britannia," — 

" No haughty Bernard, swoln with pride, 
Shall e'er fair Freedom's sons subdue ; 



THE MASSACRE. O 

The rights old Britain — old Britain once denied, 

We bravely purchased in the new. 
Guard, Americans ! Americans, guard your laud ! 
And spurn a tyrant's iron band ! " 

A particular relation of the occasion of the event which occurred 
on the massacre thus appears in the narrative already gleaned. It 
was probably from the hand of James Bowdoin, chairman of the town's 
committee. " A difference having happened near Mr. Gray's rope- 
walk, between a soldier and a man belonging to it, the soldier chal- 
lenged the ropemakers to a boxing match. The challenge was 
accepted by one of them, and the soldier worsted. He ran to the 
barrack in the neighborhood, and returned with several of his com- 
panions. The fray was I'enewed, and the soldiers were driven off. 
They soon returned, with recruits, and were again worsted. This 
happened several times, till at length a considerable body of soldiers 
was collected, and they also were driven off, the ropemakers having 
been joined by their brethren of the contiguous ropewalks. By this 
time, Mr. Gray, being alarmed, interposed, and, with the assistance of 
some gentlemen, prevented any further disturbance. To satisfy the 
soldiers, and punish the man who had been the occasion of the first 
difference, and as an example to the rest, he turned him out of his 
service, and waited on Col. Dalrymple, the commanding officer of the 
troops, and with him concerted measures for preventing further mis- 
chief. Though this affair ended thus, it made a strong impression on 
the minds of the soldiers in general, who thought the honor of the 
regiment concerned to revenge those repeated repulses. For this 
purpose, they seem to have formed a combination to commit some out- 
rage upon the inhabitants of the town indiscriminately ; and this was 
to be done on the evening of the fifth of March, or soon after." 
Appended to this relation of the town, are the depositions of ninety- 
six witnesses, clearly unfolding the circumstances of the massacre. 
The minute evidence in the case advanced at the trials of the regulars 
involved in this event is, moreover, of greater importance than the 
town depositions, and a perpetual evidence of the blighting curse of 
standing armies. 

The most interesting statement that we find of this memorable mas- 
sacre, yet conflicting with that of the town, is gathered from the work 
of a British author, entitled " The History of the American War, 
1* 



6 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

etc., by C. Stedman," who served under Sir William Howe, which is 
as follows : 

" On the evening of the fifth of March, the same day on which 
the British minister. Lord North, moved his resolutions in the House 
of Commons for discontinuing the American duties, a quarrel arose at 
Boston between two or three young men of the town and as many 
soldiers, at or near their barracks. From words, they proceeded to 
blows ; and the solchers, having vanquished their opponents, were seen 
pursuing them through the streets. The alarm to the populace was 
given by ringing the bells of the churches, and the people of the town, 
assembling in great numbers at the custom-house, began to crowd 
around the sentinel who was posted there, and not only insulted him, 
but threatened his life. Captain Preston, the ofiicer on duty for the 
day, who had by this time received information of the tumult, pro- 
ceeded immediately to the main guard, and hearing that the sentinel 
placed at the custom-house might be in danger, sent a party, under the 
command of a sergeant, to protect the one and secure the other ; and, 
from greater precaution, soon afterwards followed, and took command 
of the party himself He endeavored to prevail upon the people to 
disperse, but in vain. The mob soon became more riotous, not only 
revihng the soldiers with abusive language, but throwing stones at 
them, and whatever else came in their way. One of the soldiers 
received a bloAV from something that was thrown, and levelled his 
musket ; the officer, stretching out his arm to prevent the soldier from 
firing, was struck with a club, and the musket was discharged. The 
attack from the mob became more violent, and the rest of the soldiers, 
following the example of their comrades, discharged their pieces singly 
and in a scattered manner, by which four of the populace were killed, 
and several others wounded. They were intimidated, and for a 
moment fled ; but, soon afterwards collecting, took their station in an 
adjoining street. The drums beat to arms, the rest of the troops 
were assembled, and the whole town was in the utmost confusion. A 
town-meeting Avas held, and a deputation was sent to the governor, 
requesting him to remove the troops from the town. The governor 
called together the Council, and the Council giving it as their opinion 
that the removal of the troops from the town would be for his 
majesty's service, the commanding officer promised to comply with 
their advice. Capt. Preston surrendered himself for trial, and the 
soldiers under his command at the custom-house were taken into 



THE MASSACRE. 7 

custody ; the mob dispersed, and the following day the troops were 
removed to Castle William. 

In the Diary of John Adams, it is recorded as follows : — " The 
evening of the fifth of March I spent at Mr. Henderson Inches' 
house, at the south end of Boston, in company with a club, with whom 
I had been associated for several years. About nine o'clock we were 
alarmed with the ringing of bells, and supposing it to be the signal 
of fire, we snatched our hats and cloaks, broke up the club, and 
went out to assist in quenching the fire, or aiding our friends who 
might be in danger. In the street we were informed that the British 
soldiers had fired on the inhabitants, killed some and wounded others, 
near the town-house. A crowd of people were flowing down the street 
to the scene of action. When we arrived, we saw nothing but some 
field-pieces before the south door of the tOAvn-house, and some engi- 
neers and grenadiers drawn up to protect them. Mrs. Adams was 
then in circumstances to make me apprehensive of the efiect of the 
surprise upon her, who w^as alone, excepting her maids and a boy, in 
the house. Having, therefore, surveyed round the house, and seeing 
all quiet, I walked down Boylston-alley, into Brattle-square, where a 
company or two of regular soldiers w^ere drawn up in front of Dr. 
Cooper's old church, with their muskets shouldered, and their bayonets 
all fixed. I had no other way to proceed but along the whole front, 
in a very narrow space which they had left for foot-passengers. Pur- 
suing my way without taking the least notice of them, or they of me, 
any more than if they had been marble statues, I went directly home 
to Cole-lane." 

We will relate particulars of the town-meeting. The excited Bos- 
tonians, overwhelmed with indignation at the outrage of the British 
regulars, on the very next day, as with one tread, repaired to the 
Cradle of Liberty. The town record of that day states that the 
selectmen not being present, and the inhabitants being informed that 
they were at the council-chamber, it was voted that Mr. William 
Greenleaf be desired to proceed there, and acquaint the selectmen that 
the inhabitants desire and expect their attendance at the hall. The 
town-clerk, Wilham Cooper, presided at this meeting in the interim. 
The selectmen forthwith attended, and it w^as voted that constable 
Lindsey George Wallace wait on Rev. Dr. Cooper, and acquaint him 
that the inhabitants desire him to open the meeting with prayer. 
Hon. Thomas Cushing was chosen moderator, by hand vote. 



8 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

The first object of this democratic assembly, in defiance of British 
control, was to listen to relations of the people respecting the massacre 
of last night ; and, that the same might be recorded by the town-clerk, 
they were requested to give Avritten statements. The persons that 
appeared to give information relative to the conduct of the soldiers 
being many, it was inconvenient to receive them all at that meeting, 
and William Greenleaf, William AYhitwell and Samuel Whitwell, were 
appointed to take the depositions offered regarding the conduct of the 
regulars. 

The statements of four persons at this meeting are on the town 
records in substance as follows : — " Mr. John S. Copley related that 
Mr. Pelham and his wife, and some persons of Mr. Samuel Winthrop's 
family, heard a soldier say, after the firing on the last night, that the 
devil might give quarters — he should give them none." Here we 
will cease a moment to relate further testimony, in order to make 
allusions to John Singleton Copley, who was the most eminent 
painter of his day in Boston, a pupil of Smibert, and memorable for 
his portraits of Hancock and Warren, and for the paintings of the 
death of Chatham, and the siege of Gibraltar. The associations that 
twine around his name are of peculiar interest to the people of Boston, 
where he was born, in 1738. The Mr. Pelham to whom he alludes is 
supposed to have been one Peter Pelham, a writing and dancing 
master, Avhose Avife JNIary was the widow of Richard Copley, a tobac- 
conist, his probable father. Mr. Copley married a daughter of 
Richard Clarke, one of the consignees of the tea destroyed in 1773, 
by whom his son John S., born in Boston, May 21, 1772, known as 
Lord Lyndhurst, became Lord Chancellor of England. Gardiner 
Greene, the late millionaire, of Boston, married his daughter Elizar 
beth. He was one of the addressers to Gov. Hutchinson in 1774, 
and departed for 'London in June of that year, where he died, Septem- 
ber 25, 1815. Copley's Pasture extended down Beacon, from Walnut 
street to the water, and over Chestnut and Mount Vernon streets. 
His residence was on the present location of David Sears' man- 
sion. 

We Mill now return to the town-meeting. The next relation was 
that of John Scott, who reported that a lad of INIr. Pierpont had said 
at Mr. Chardon's, that a soldier was heard to say his ofiicer had 
acquainted them that if they went abroad at night, they should go 
armed and in companies. Mr. Pierpont stated that before the firing 



THE MASSACRE. 9 

on the last night, he had disarmed a soldier who had struck down one 
of the inhabitants. Mr. Pool Spear related that last week he heard 
one Kilson, a soldier of O'Hara's company, say that he did not know 
what the inhabitants were after, for they had broken the windows of an 
officer, one Nathaniel Rogers, but they had a scheme which would 
soon put a stop to our procedure ; that parties of soldici-s were ordered 
with pistols in their pockets, and to fire upon those who should assault 
said house again ; and that ten pounds sterhng was to be given as a 
reward for their kilhng one of those persons, and fifty pounds sterhng 
for a prisoner. 

A committee of fifteen was appointed to inform Lieut. Gov. Hutch- 
inson that it is the unanimous opinion of this meeting that the inhab- 
itants and soldiers can no longer dwell together in safety ; that nothing 
can restore the peace of the town, and prevent blood and carnage, but 
the immediate removal of the troops. The hall was crowded to excess, 
and adjourned to the Old South, to meet in the afternoon. Originally, 
Faneuil Hall could accommodate one thousand persons only. It was 
built of brick, two stories in height, and measured one hundred feet 
by forty. The offices of the town were established there, of the naval 
office, and of the notary public ; and underneath was the market-house, 
used for that purpose until Aug. 26, 1826, on the erection of the 
splendid Quincy Market-house. 

We will digress here to exhibit the prejudiced and slanderous opinion 
of the character of the Coopers, advanced in the London Political Reg- 
ister for 1780 : — " William Cooper was formerly town-clerk of Boston, 
and is one of the great knaves and most inveterate rebels in New Eng- 
land. He is a very hot-headed man, and constantly urged the most 
violent measures. He was prompted secretly by his brother, the 
Rev. Samuel Cooper, who, though a minister of peace, and to all out- 
ward appearance a meek and heavenly man, yet was one of the chief 
instruments in stirring up the people to take arms. Hancock, and 
many leaders of the rebellion, were his parishioners. When the Boston 
rioters made their concerted attack on the custom-house to plunder the 
money-chest, March, 1770, the bell of this reverend rogue's church was 
the signal which summoned them to the assault." This pastor of 
Brattle-street church, ever noted as the silver-tongued orator, was 
of such remarkable popularity, that the aisles of the church would be 
thronged with eager listeners, and he was a favorite of royalists and 
rebels. William Cooper had rendered liimself specially obnoxious to 



10 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

the royalists by his Journal of Occurrences from the time of the 
arrival of the regulars to the year 1770, published in the Boston 
Gazette. 

The following effusion, characterizing the Boston clergy of 1770, 
ascribed to John Fenno, keeper of the granary, and to Joseph Green, 
has long been famous. It was probably written by more than one 
hand : — 

The Mather race will ne'er disgrace 

Their ancient pedigree, 
And Charles Old Brick,' if well or sick. 

Will cry for Liberty. 
There 's puffing Pemb,^ who does contemn 

All Liberty's noble sons ; 
And Andrew Sly ,3 who oft draws nigh 

To Tommy Skin and Bones.-* 
In Brattle Street we seldom meet 

With silver-tongued Sam,^ 
Who gently glides between both sides, 

And thus escapes a jam. 
Little Hopper,^ when he tlxinks proper. 

In Liberty's cause is bold ; 
And John Old North,'' though little worth, 

Won't sacrifice to gold. 
Penuel Pulf * is hearty enough, 

And so is Simeon Howard ; 
And Long Lane Teague' will join the league, 

He never was a coward. 
Trout's'" Sunday aim is to reclaim 

Those that in sin are sunk ; 
When Monday comes he stills them rum, 

And gets them woful drunk. 
There 's punning Byles provokes our smiloe, 

A man of stately parts ; 
He visits folk to crack his jokes , 

Which never mend their hearts. 
With strutting gait, and wig so great, 

He walks along the streets. 
And throws out wit, or what 's like it. 
To every one he meets. 

We will further quote the Political Register, for the allusions to 
the moderator of this meeting: — " Ajnong the rebels in Massachu- 

1 Chauncy. ^ Pemberton. ^ Eliot. * Gov. Hutchinson. ^ Cooper. * Sti 
7 Lathrop. * Bowen. * Moorhead. "> Troutbec. 



THE MASSACRE. 11 

setts there are many jealousies. The staunch republicans have placed 
John Hancock and Tommy Gushing at the head of their state, — the 
first as governor, the second as lieutenant-governor, — chosen since the 
rebellion commenced. Bowdoin, who had been at the head of their 
affairs for these last five years, as president of the Council, was a candi- 
date for the governorsliip in opposition to Hancock, but lost it by a 
great majority ; he was then offered the place of lieutenant-governor, 
but refused it on a pretence of ill health ; that place Avas then offered 
to Warren, of Plymouth, who also declined it : at length, that the 
place might not go a-begging any longer, they offered it to Cusb 
ing, who they were sure would not refuse it." We have praise 
enough for Thomas Gushing, to say of him, in the language of John 
Adams in 1765, that he was "steady and constant, busy in the inter- 
est of liberty and the opposition, famed for secrecy and his talent in 
procuring intelligence ; " indeed, he was the chief operator in the 
under current of hberty. 

We gather from Tudor' s Life of James Otis this graphic statement 
of the meeting of the Gouncil: — " The lieutenant-governor Hutchin- 
son convened the Gouncil : a town-meeting was held March 6, and 
adjourned to the Old South Ghurch, because Faneuil Hall could con- 
tain only a part of the multitude that assembled. The British 
soldiers were all kept in readiness at their quarters, and all the militia 
of the town were called out. Every brow was anxious, every heart 
resolute. A vote of the town was passed that ' it should be evac- 
uated by the soldiers, at all hazards.' A committee was appointed to 
wait on the heutenant-governor, to make this demand. Samuel 
Adams was the chairman of this committee, and discharged its duties 
with an ability commensurate to the occasion. Golonel Dalrymple was 
by the side of Hutchinson, who, at the head of the Gouncil, received the 
delegation. He at first denied that he had the power to grant the 
request. Adams plainly, in few words, proved to him that he had the 
power by the charter. Hutchinson then consulted with Dalrymple in 
a whisper, the result of which was an offer to remove one of the 
regiments. At this critical moment, Adams showed the most noble 
presence of mind. The military and civil ofiicers were in reality 
abashed before this plain committee of a democratic assembly. They 
knew the imminent danger that impended ; the very air was filled with 
the breathings of compressed indignation. They shrunk, fortunately 
shrunk, from all the arrogance which they had hitherto maintained. 



12 THE HrNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Their reliance on a standing army faltered before the undaunted, irre- 
sistible resolution of free unarmed citizens; and when the orator, 
seeming not to represent, but to personify, the universal feeling and 
opinion, with unhesitating promptness and dignified firmness replied, 
' If the lieutenant-governor or Colonel Dalrymple, or both together, 
have authority to remove one regiment, they have authority to remove 
two ; and nothing short of the total evacuation of the town by all the 
regular troops will satisfy the public mind, or preserve the peace of 
this province,' the desired effect was produced. The commanding ofii- 
cer pledged his honor that the troops should leave the town, and it 
was immediately evacuated." It is related that when Lord North 
Avas informed of this remarkable instance of the dignified energy of 
the town's chairman, he called the regulars Samuel Adams' two regi- 
ments, in a tone of contempt. Hutchinson, who was of a cowardly 
spirit of ambition, had declared publicly that he had no authority over 
the king's troops ; that the military force had no separate command, 
and he could do nothing without Dalrymple; moreover. Brigadier 
Ruggles, the commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts troops, was 
under the command of a British ensign for an entire campaign. 

Samuel Adams was one of the most remarkable men of the Revolu- 
tion, and we cannot resist the pleasure of citing the opinion of his 
character from the hand of Thomas Jefferson, the clearest and best 
compressed conception of this dauntless patriot ever written: — 
"I can say that he was truly a great man, — wise in council, fer- 
tile in resources, immovable in his purposes, — and had, I think, a 
greater share than any other member in advising and directing our 
measures in the northern war. As a speaker, he could not be com- 
pared with his living colleague and namesake, whose deep conceptions, 
nervous style, and undaunted firmness, made him truly our bulwark 
in debate. But Mr. Samuel Adams, although not of fluent elocution, 
was so rigorously logical, so clear in his views, abundant in good sense, 
and master always of his subject, that he commanded the most pro- 
found attention whenever he rose in an assembly by which the froth 
of declamation was heard with sovereign contempt." 

Sauuiel Adams was emphatically the man of the people ; and the 
editor, who has had conversation with his namesake, the ancient town- 
crier, now ninety-two years of age and with clear memory, was 
informed that Adams once remarked to him, — "We, the people, are 
like hens laying eggs ; when they hatch, you must take care of the 



THE MASSACRE. 13 

chickens. You are a young man, Samuel, and as you groAv old, you 
must abide by our proceedings." At another time, our political patri- 
arch observed to him, — "It is often stated that I am at the head of 
the Kevolution, whereas a few of us merely lead the way as the people 
follow, and we can go no further than we are backed up by them ; for, 
if we attempt to advance any further, we make no progress, and may 
lose our labor in defeat." Samuel Adams was ever at the head of 
Boston deputations before the Revolution, and conducted the corre- 
spondence with patriots in remote places ; or, to adopt the language of 
the venerable town-crier, "Samuel Adams did the writing, and John 
Hancock paid the postage." 

In order to efiect a more clear apprehension of the indignation of 
the Bostonians at this appalling crisis, and in justice to Lieutenant-gov- 
ernor Hutchinson, who descends to a relation of full particulars of the 
immediate occurrences succeeding the massacre, in his History of Mas- 
sachusetts Bay, we glean at large his statements ; and the reader, in 
obser-^dng discrepancies between his relation and that of the revolu- 
tionists, will bear in mind that Hutchinson was a minion of the throne, 
desirous to assert British control. He writes in the third pferson, 
stating that two or three of the men who had seen the action ran to 
the lieutenant-governor's house, which was about half a mile distant 
in Garden-court, near North-square, and begged for God's sake 
he would go to King-street, where, they feared, a general action 
would come on between the troops and the inhabitants. "He went 
immediately, and, to satisfy the people, called for Capt. Preston, and 
inquired why he fired upon the inhabitants without the direction of a 
civil magistrate. The noise was so great that his answer could not 
be understood, and some, who were apprehensive of the lieutenant- 
governor's danger, from the general confusion, called out, ' The town- 
house ! the town-house ! ' and, with irresistible violence, he was forced 
up by the crowd into the council-chamber. There, demand was imme- 
diately made of him to order the troops to withdraw from the town- 
house to their barracks. He refused to comply ; and, calling from 
the balcony to the great body of the people which remained in the 
street, he expressed his great concern at the unhappy event, assured 
them he would do everything in his power in order to a full and impar- 
tial inquiry, that the law might have its course, and advised them to 
go peaceably to their several homes. Upon this, there was a cry, 
' Home ! home ! ' and a great part separated and went home. He then 
2 



14 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

signified his opinion to Lieut. Col. Carr, that if the companies in arms 
were ordered to their barracks, the streets would be cleared and the 
town in quiet for that night. Upon their retiring, the rest of the 
inhabitants, except those of the council-chamber, retired also." 

The elegant mansion of Gov. Hutchinson stood on Garden-court, 
adjoining that of Sir Henry Franklyn, in the rear of which was a 
beautiful garden extending to Hanover and on Fleet street. It was 
erected of brick, painted in stone color. The capital of a Corinthian 
pilaster, of which there were six worked into the wall of this edifice, 
is deposited in the Historical Library. The crown of Britain sur- 
mounted each window. The hall of entrance displayed a spacious 
arch, from the roof of which a dimly-lighted lamp gave a rich twilight 
view. The finely carved and gilded arch, in massy magnificence, 
was most tastefully ornamented with busts and statues, says Mrs. 
Child, in the Rebels, who visited the structure when it was occupied by 
William Little, Esq. The light streamed full on the soul-beaming 
countenance of Cicero, and playfully flickered on the brow of Tulliola, 
the tenderness of whose diminutive appellation delightfully associates 
the father with the orator, and blends intellectual vigor with the best 
affections of the heart. The panelling of the parlor was of the dark 
richly-shaded mahogany of St. Domingo, and elaborately ornamented. 
The busts of George UI. and his queen were in front of a splendid 
mirror, with bronze lamps on each side, covered with transparencies of 
the destruction of the Spanish Armada and the other battle-ships before 
the rock of Gibraltar. Around the room were arches surmounted with 
the arms of England. The library was hung with canvas tapestry, 
emblazoning the coronation of George II., interspersed with the royal 
arms. The portraits of Anne and the Georges hung in massive 
frames of antique splendor, and the crowded shelves of books were sur- 
mounted with busts of the house of Stuart. In the centre of the 
apartment stood a table of polished oak. In the year 1832, this 
building was demolished for modern changes. 

Lieut. Col. Dalrymple, at the desire of the lieutenant-governor, 
came to the council-chamber, while several justices were examining 
persons who were present at the transactions of the evening. From 
the evidence of several, it was apparent that the justices would commit 
Capt. Preston, if taken. Several hours po.ssed before he could be 
found, and the people suspected that he would not run the hazard of a 
trial ; bu*y at length, he surrendered himself to a warrant for appre- 



THE MASSACRE. 15 

hendinc' him, and having been examined, was committed to prison. 
The next morning, the soldiers who Avere upon guard surrendered also, 
and were committed. This was not sufficient to satisfy the people, 
and earlj in the forenoon they were in motion again. The heutenant- 
governor caused his Council to be summoned, and desired the two 
lieutenant-colonels of the regiments to be present. The selectmen of 
Boston were waiting the lieutenant-governor's coming to Council, and 
being admitted, made their representation that, from the contentions 
arising from the troops quartered in Boston, and, above all, from the 
tragedy of the last night, the minds of the inhabitants Avere exceedingly 
disturbed ; that they would presently be assembled in a town-meeting ; 
and that, unless the troops should be removed, the most terrible con- 
sequences were to be expected. The justices, also, of Boston and 
several of the neighboring towns, had assembled, and desired to signify 
their opinion that it would not be possible to keep the people under 
restraint, if the troops remained in town. The lieutenant-governor 
acquainted both the selectmen and the justices that he had no author- 
ity to alter the place of destination of the king's troops ; that he 
expected the commanding officers of the two regiments, and would let 
them know the applications which had been made. Presently after their 
coming, a large committee from the town-meeting presented an address 
or message to the heutenant-governor, declaring it to be the unanimous 
opinion of the meeting that nothing can rationally be expected to 
restore the peace of the town, "and prevent blood and carnage," but 
the withdrawal of the troops. The committee withdrew into another 
room, to wait for an answer. Some of the Council urged the necessity 
of complying with the people's demand. The lieutenant-governor 
thereupon declared that he would upon no consideration v.hatever give 
orders for their removal. Lieut. Col. Dalrymple then signified that, 
as the 29th regiment had originally been designed to be placed at the 
Castle, and was now peculiarly obnoxious to the town, he was content 
that it should be removed to the Castle until the general's pleasure 
should be known. Gen. Gage was commander-in-chief of the British 
forces in America. The committee was informed of this offer, and the 
lieutenant-governor rose from the Council, intending to receive no 
further application upon the subject ; but the Council prayed that he 
would meet them again in the afternoon, and Col. Dalrymple desiring 
it also, he complied. Before the Council met again, it had been inti- 
mated to them that the "desire" of the governor and Council to the 



16 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

commanding officer (Maj. Gen. Wm. Kcppel was colonel of the British 
regiments at Boston and at the Castle) to remove the troops, would 
cause him to do it, though he should receive no authoritative " order." 
As soon as they met, a committee from the town-meeting attended, 
with a second message, to acquaint the lieutenant-governor that it was 
the unanimous voice of the people assemhled, consisting, as they said, 
of near three thousand persons, that nothing less than a total and 
immediate removal of the troops would satisfy them. Here Hutchin- 
son adds, in a note, at the end of this page, as follows : — "The chair- 
man of the committee, in conversation with Lieut. Col. Dalrymple, 
said to him, that if he could remove the 29th regiment, he could 
remove the 14th also, and it was at his peril to refuse it. This was a 
strong expression of that determined spirit which animated all future 
measures." 

The Council, continues Hutchinson, who were divided in the 
forenoon, Avere now unanimous ; and each of them, separately, declared 
his opinion, and gave his reason for it ; and one or more of them 
observed to the lieutenant-governor that he would not be able to justify 
a refusal to comply with the unanimous adAace of the Council, and 
that all the consequences would be chargeable upon him alone. The 
secretary of the province, Andrew Oliver, Esq., who thought differ- 
ently in the morning, the two lieutenant-colonels, and the commander 
of one of his majesty's ships then upon the station, who were all 
present in Council, concurred in the necessity of his complying. He 
had signified his own opinion that, at all events, the governor and 
Council should avoid interfering in the destination of the troops, and 
leave it to the commanding officer ; but when he considered that, by 
the charter, the Council was constituted for advice and assistance to 
him, — that he had called them together for that purpose, — that his 
standing out alone would probably bring on a general convulsion, 
which the unanimity of the king's servants might have prevented, — 
he consented to signify his desire, founded upon the unanimous opinion 
and advice of the Council, that the troops might be removed to the 
barracks in the Castle ; at the same time disclaiming all authority to 
order their removal. 

Some of the officers of the regiments appeared, the next day, to be 
greatly dissatisfied with being compelled by the people to leave the town 
so disgracefully. Expresses were sent away immediately to the gen- 
eral. The jealousy that the general would forbid the removal caused 



THE MASSACRE. 17 

further measures to force the troops from the town before there could be 
sufficient time for his answer. Koxbury, the next town to Boston, 
assembled, and sent a committee of their principal inhabitants with an 
address to the lieutenant-governor, praying him to interpose, and to 
order the immediate removal of the troops ; but he refused to copcern 
himself any further in the affair. As the time approached when a return 
might be expected from New York, it was thought fit to have another 
meeting of the town of Boston, and a committee was appointed further 
to apply to the lieutenant-governor to order the troops out of town ; 
Mr. Adams, their prolocutor, pressing the matter with great vehe- 
mence, and intimating that, in case of refusal, the rage of the people 
would vent itself against the heutenant-governor in particular. He 
gave a peremptory refusal, and expressed his resentment at the men- 
ace. The committee then applied to the commanding officer, and the 
same day, IMarch 10, the 29th regiment, and the next morning the 
14th, were removed to the Castle. This success, concludes Hutchin- 
son, gave greater assurances than ever that, by firmness, the great 
object, exemption from all exterior power, civil or military, would 
finally be obtained. Checks and temporary interruptions might hap- 
pen, but they would be surmounted, and the progress of liberty would 
recommence. 

The time for holding the Superior Court for Suffolk was the next 
week after the tragical action in King-street. Although bills were 
found by the grand jury, yet the court, says Hutchinson, considering 
the disordered state of the town, had thought fit to continue the trials 
to the next term, when the minds of people would be more free from 
prejudice, and a dispassionate, impartial jury might be expected, after 
there had been sufficient time for the people to cool. 

A considerable number of the most active persons in all public 
measures of the town having dined together, relates Hutcliinson, 
went in a body from table to the Superior Court, then sitting, with 
Samuel Adams at their head, and, in behalf of the town, pressed the 
bringing on the trial at the same term with so much spirit, that 
the judges did not think it advisable to abide by their own order, but 
appointed a day for the trials, and adjourned the court for that pur- 
pose. But even this irregularity the lieutenant-governor thought it 
best not to notice in a public message ; and for the grand point, the rela- 
tion between the Parliament and the colonies, he had determined to ' 
avoid any dispute with the assembly, unless he should be forced into 
2* 



18 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

it. Therefore, after acquainting them that he should transmit the 
remonstrance to be laid before the king, and attempting a vindication 
of his own character from their charges against it, he dissolved the 
assembly, — the time, by charter, for a new assembly approaching. 

The trials of the soldiers implicated in the massacre occurred on the 
October term of that year. The evidence against the four persons 
tried for firing from the custom-house being only that of a French 
boy, the jury acquitted them "without leaving the bar. It was proved 
that the boy -was at a remote part of the town the whole time that he 
swore he was at the custom-house and in King-street. The court 
ordered that he should be committed and prosecuted for wilful per- 
jury ; and, by his own confession, he was convicted. 

Captain Preston had been well advised to retain two gentlemen of 
the law, says Hutchinson, — Josiah Quincy and John Adams, — who 
were strongly attached to the cause of liberty, and to stick at no 
reasonable fees for that purpose ; and this measure proved of great 
service to him. He was also well informed of the characters of the 
jury, and challenged such as were most hkely to be under bias. 
Three or four witnesses swore that he ordered his men to fire ; but 
their evidence was encountered by that of several other witnesses, who 
stood next to him, and were conversing with him at a different place 
from that which the witnesses for the crown swore he was in ; and the 
judges, in summing up the evidence to the jury, were unanimous in their 
opinion that he did not order his men to fire ; but if he did, they were 
of opinion that, from the evidence of many other witnesses, the assault 
both upon the ofiicer and men, while upon duty, was so violent, that 
the homicide could not amount even to manslaughter, but must be con- 
sidered as excusable homicide. The jury soon agreed upon a verdict 
of not guilty, and the prisoner, being discharged, retired to the Castle, 
and remained there until he sailed for England, where he was pen- 
sioned. A few days after the trials, while the court continued to sit, 
an incendiary paper was posted in the night upon the door of the 
town-house, complaining of the court for cheating the people with a 
show of justice, and calling upon them to rise and free the world from 
such domestic tyrants. We refer to the printed trials for the results 
in the other cases. 

In order to repel the insinuation of Hutchinson regarding abundant 
fees, we will give the relation of John Adams on this point. After 
stating that he accepted a single guinea as a retaining fee, Mr. Adams 



THE MASSACKE. 19 

states : — "From first to last, I never said a word about fees, in any of 
those cases ; and I should have said nothing about them here, if calum- 
nies and insinuations had not been propagated, that I was tempted by 
great fees and enormous sums of money. Before or after the trial, 
Preston sent me ten guineas, and at the trial of the soldiers after- 
wards, eight guineas more, which were all the fees I ever received, or 
were offered to me ; and I should not have said anything on the sub- 
ject to my clients, if they had never offered me anything. This was 
all the pecuniary reward I ever had for fourteen or fifteen days' labor 
in the most exhausting and fatiguing causes I ever tried, for hazard- 
ing a popularity very general and very hardly earned, and for incur- 
ring a clamor of popular suspicions and prejudices, which are not yet 
worn out, and never will be forgotten as long as the history of this 
period is read." And, on another occasion, Mr. Adams further 
remarked : — "I have reason to remember that fotal night. The part 
I took in defence of Capt. Preston and the soldiers procured me anxi- 
ety and obloquy enough. It was, however, one of the most gallant, 
generous, manly and disinterested actions of my whole life, and one of 
the best pieces of service I ever rendered my country. Judgm^ent 
of death against those soldiers would have been as foul a stain upon 
this country as the executions of the Quakers or witches anciently. 
As the evidence was, the verdict of the jury was exactly right. This, 
however, is no reason why the town should not call the action of that 
night a massacre ; nor is it any argument in favor of the governor or 
minister who caused them to be sent here. But it is the strongest of 
proofs of the danger of standing armies." 

The Boston Athenreum overlooks the cemetery where were deposited 
the remains of our fellow-citizens martyred in the cause of liberty, 
March 5, 1770. Here repose the ashes of Hancock and Gushing, the 
latter of whom was lieutenant-governor during the administration of 
the former. Though Sumner speaks of "Hancock's broken column," 
the idea is merely poetical, for no monument has ever been erected 
over his remains. It is stated in the Boston News Letter that four 
of the victims were conveyed on hearses, and buried on the eiglith of 
March, in one vault, in the Middle Burying Ground. The funeral 
consisted of an immense number of pei-sons in ranks of six, followed 
by a long train of carriages belonging to the principal gentry of the 
town, at which time the bells of Boston and adjoining towns wore 
tolled. It is supposed that a greater number of people of Boston and 



20 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

vicinity attended this funeral than were ever congregated on this con- 
tinent on any occasion. In this procession emblematical banners were 
displayed. The following effusion appeared in Fleet's Post, March 
12,1770: 

" With fire enwrapt, surcharged with sudden death, 
Lo, the poised tube convolves its fatal breath ! 
The flying ball, Avith heaven-directed force, 
Rids the free spirit of its fallen corse. 
Well-fated shades ! let no unmanly tear 
From pity's eye distain your honored bier. 
Lost to their view, surviving friends may mourn. 
Yet o'er thy pile celestial flames shall burn. 
Long as in Freedom's cause the wise contend. 
Dear to your country, shall your fame extend ; 
While to the world the lettered stone shall tell 
How Caldwell, Attucks, Gray and Maverick fell." 

On the fourteenth of :March, Patrick Carr, who died of the wound 
received in the massacre, was buried from Faneuil Hall, in the same 
grave in which the other victims were deposited. 

P^he poet who wrote the effusion above quoted predicts that the let- 
tered stone shall tell the tale of the martyred sons of liberty ; but no 
stone appears on the spot where they were buried. Indeed, if any 
stone were ever erected over their remains, it may have been destroyed 
by the British regulars, or removed in making repairs on the ground. 
Let the prediction be realized by the erection of a beautiful marble 
monument on the site to the memory of this event, which, with the 
battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, insured our independence. 

Our venerable native citizen of Boston, the Hon. Thomas Handy- 
side Perkins, probably the only survivor who has any remembrance 
of the Boston massacre, stated to the editor of this work, at an inter- 
view with him on Jan. 3, 1851, that at that period he was five years 
of age, and asleep at home on the evening of its occurrence. His 
father, James Perkins, a wine-merchant, resided in King-street, on 
the present location of Tappan's stone building, opposite JNIackerel- 
lane, now Kilby-street. On the next day, his father's man-servant, 
being desirous that he should witness the effects of this occurrence, 
imprudently, as Mr. Perkins remarked, went with him to the Royal 
Exchange Tavern, located on the opposite side of the custom-house, 
now the site of the Messrs. Gilberts, brokers, kept by ISIr. Stone. 
Alexander Cruikshank testified that when he was at the head of 



THE MASSACRE. 21 

Royal Exchange-lane, he stopped at Stone's tavern, and the people 
were abusing the sentinel, and showed him the dead body of Crispus 
Attacks, one of the victims. He then pointed to him the frozen blood 
in the gutter, opposite the Exchange Tavern, and proceeded with him 
to the residence of Tuthill Hubbard, on Cornhill, a short distance from 
the north side of Queen-street, where lay the dead body of another of 
the victims ; and this is the whole of his recollection of the tragical 
event, which has never been eifaced from his mind. Colonel Perkins 
is unable to state which of the victims he saw at Mr. Hubbard's resi- 
dence ; but, as Joseph Hinckley testified, according to the trial, that, 
after the regulars had fired, he assisted in the removal of Samuel 
Gray, who had fallen, to the apothecary's shop of Dr. John Loring, 
which was adjoining or very near Mr. Hubbard's dwelling, and could 
not find admittance, as it Avas closed, — doubtless, that was the name 
of the other victim whose remains were exhibited to his youthful 
eye. 

In order to a further elucidation of this matter, we have recurred to 
the papers of the day, by which it appears that Gray was killed on 
the spot, as the ball entered his head and broke the skull. He was a 
ropemaker, and, on the day of interment, his body was conveyed 
from the residence of Benjamin Gray, his brother, on the south side 
of the Exchange Tavern. Now, Col. Perkins is either mistaken regard- 
ing the house where he saw the po.le corpse, or else it was removed 
from Mr. Hubbard's dwelling on the next day. James Caldwell, also 
killed on the spot by two balls entering his breast, was mate of Captain 
Morton's vessel, and his body was removed from the captain's resi- 
dence in Cole-lane on the day of interment. Crispus Attucks being 
a stranger, his remains were conveyed from Faneuil Hall. He was 
killed by two balls entering his breast, and was a native of Framing- 
ham ; and Samuel, a son of widow Mary Maverick, a promising youth 
of seventeen years, an apprentice to Mr. Greenwood, a joiner, was 
wounded by a ball that entered his abdomen and escaped through his 
back, which caused his death, and his remains were removed from 
his mother's house on the day of interment. Patrick Carr, who 
died a few days after, of a ball that entered near his hip and went out 
at his side, was in the employ of one Mr. Field, leather-breeches 
maker in Queen-street, and aged about thirty years. Among other 
matters in the w^arrant for the annual town-meeting of Boston, March 
12, 1770, is the following clause: — " Whether the town will take any 



22 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

measures that a public monument may be erected on the spot where 
the late tragical scene was acted, as a memento to posterity of that 
horrid massacre, and the destructive consequences of military troops 
being quartered in a well-regulated city." We notice, on turning to 
the records, that no action was taken on this point ; but the town 
voted their thanks to the towns of Roxbury, Cambridge, Charlestown 
and Watcrtown, for their kind concern in this deplorable event. As 
the precise location of this scene will ever be a point of great interest 
to Bostonians, we gather, from the deposition of Samuel Drowne, that 
it occurred between Crooked, now Wilson's lane, and Eoyal Exchange- 
lane. He states that he was standing on the steps of the Exchange 
Tavern, being the next house to the custom-house ; and soon after saw 
Captain Preston, whom he well knew, with a number of soldiers drawn 
near the west corner of the custom-house, and heard Preston say, 
"Damn your bloods ! why don't you fire? " after which they fired. 

At a town-meeting, Boston, March 19, 1771, Hon. Thomas Cush- 
ing moderator, the committee appointed to consider of some suitable 
method to perpetuate the memory of the horrid massacre perpetrated 
on the evening of the fifth of March, 1770, by a party of soldiers of 
the 29th regiment, reported as their opinion that, for the present, the 
town make choice of a proper person to deliver an oration at such 
time as may be judged most convenient, to commemorate the barbarous 
murder of five of our fellow-citizens on that fatal day, and to impress 
upon our minds the ruinous tendency of standing armies in free cities, 
and the necessity of such noble exertions, in all future times, as the 
inhal^tants of the town then made, whereby the designs of the con- 
spirators against the public liberty may be still frustrated ; and the 
committee, in order to complete the plan of some standing monument 
of military tyranny, begged leave to be indulged with further time. 
Their report being accepted, it was voted unanimously that the town 
will now come to the choice of an orator. A committee was then 
appointed ; Samuel Hunt and James Lovell were nominated as candi- 
dates to deliver the oration. The inhabitants then voted, and the 
latter was elected. A committee was appointed to wait on James 
Lovell, and invite his acceptance. 

In regard to the location of the site where the victims of the Boston 
massacre were deposited, the editor has the evidence of the venerable 
Col. Joseph May, a warden of King's Chapel, possessing great integ- 
rity and a tenacious memory, stated previous to his decease in 1841, 



THE MASSACRE. 28 

and who witnessed their interment, being then ten years of age, and a 
scholar in the public Latin school. Pointing to the spot which is the 
site of a tomb once owned by the city, in the rear of the tomb of 
Deacon Richard Checkley, an apothecary, Col. May stated that was 
the place where he saw them interred. A beautiful larch-tree flour- 
ishes at the side of the city tomb, which is opposite Montgomery-place. 
When, during the mayoralty of Jonathan Chapman, an iron fence 
was erected on the Granary cemetery, in the month of June, 1840, 
an excavation was made over this spot, for the erection of this city 
tomb, human bones, and a skull with a bullet-hole perforated through 
it, were discovered, which probably were remains of these victims: 
and we have the evidence of the late Martin Smith, sexton of King's 
Chapel church, that he assisted in throwing the skull and other bones 
into the earth near the larch-tree. 

When General Warren gave an oration on the massacre, March 5th, 
1772, James Allen, one of the Boston poets, commemorated the event 
in verse, at his request ; and John Adams states in his diary, probably 
in allusion to this poem, that James Otis reads to large circles of the 
common people Allen's oration on the beauties of liberty, and recom- 
mends it as an excellent production. Allen thus apostrophised King 
George, in these prophetic terms : 

" In vain shall Britain lift her suppliant eye, 
An alienated offspring feels no filial tie. 
Her tears in vain shall bathe the soldiers' feet, — 
Remember, ingrate, Boston's crimsoned street ! 
Whole hecatombs of lives the deed shall pay. 
And purge the murders of that guilty day." 

May the sons of Boston be sure that a centennial oration, commem- 
orative of the Boston massacre, be pronounced by the most eminent 
and eloquent orator of the day ! 

One of the most popular celebrations in Boston, previous to the 
massacre, was that of the Gunpowder Plot, which, according to Dr. 
Charles Chauncy, in a letter to Dr. Stiles, dated May 23d, 1768, was 
to that day commemorated ; and was in especial memorable to him, as 
his ancestor was at Westminster school, adjoining the parliament house, 
pursuing his studies, when the plot was discovered. The latest date 
of its celebration in Boston, of which we find the most particular 
account, was on Monday, Nov. 6th, 1769, when the guns at the Castle 



24 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

and at the batteries in town were fired, and a pageantry exhibited, 
elevated on a stage, carried in derision through the streets, and fol- 
lowed by crowds of people, with ludicrous effigies of the Pope and 
others, which, when they reached Copp's Hill, were committed to the 
flames. One of the regulars was flogged by one of the party, for 
attempting to detain the procession, as it passed the main guard sta- 
tioned at the door of the state-house. On a lantern was a descrip- 
tion of the Pope in 1769; on another was inscribed "Love and 
Unity. The American whig. Confusion to the tories ; and a total 
banishment to bribery and corruption." And on the right side was 
this profane acrostic, below a caricature of John Mein, the royalist 
editor of the Chronicle, and warm opponent of the people : 

"Insulting wretch ! we '11 him expose, — 
O'er the whole world his deeds disclose. 
Hell now gapes wide to take him in ; 
Now he is ripe ; 0, lump of sin ! 
Mean is the man, — j\I**n is his name ; 
Enough he 's spread his hellish fame. 
Infernal furies hurl his soul 
Nine million times from pole to pole." 

"Wilkes and Liberty" was inscribed on another lantern, over 
highly inflammatory verses. We find no allusion to this celebration 
after 1774. 

When the evening of the first anniversary of the massacre arrived, 
an address was delivered at the Manufactory House, by Dr. Thomas 
Young. This building was selected for the occasion, because the first 
opposition to the British regulars, October, 1768, was made there, 
when one Elisha Brown, having possession of the building, which was 
located at the corner of Hamilton-place, as a tenant under the province, 
refused admission to the military. The high sherifi" was sent by Gov. 
Bernard, for admission; and, on a third attempt, he found an open 
window, and entered that ; upon which the people gathered about him, 
and made him prisoner. This outrage occurred just after the arrival 
of the regulars. We transcribe the particulars of this public demon- 
stration, from the Boston News Letter of March 7th and 14th : The 
bells of the churches were tolled from twelve o'clock at noon until 
one. An oration Avas dehvered in the evening, by Dr. Young, at the 
hall of the Manufactory, a building originally designed for encouraging 
manufactories, and employing the poor. The oration, it is said, con- 



THE MASSACRE. 25 

tained a brief account of the massacre ; of the imputations of treason 
and rebellion, with -which the tools of power endeavored to brand the 
inhabitants; and a descant upon the nature of treasons, with some 
threats of the British ministry to take away the IMassachusetts charter. 
In the evening there was a very striking exhibition at the house of Mr. 
Paul Revere, fronting the old North-square, so called. At one of the 
chamber windows was the appearance of the ghost of Christopher 
Snider, with one of liis fingers in the wound, endeavoring to stop the 
blood issuing therefrom; near him his friends weeping; at a small 
distance, a monumental pyramid, with his name on the top, and the 
names of those killed on the fifth of March round the base ; under- 
neath, the following lines : 

" Snider's pale ghost fresh bleeding stands, 
And vengeance for his death demands." 

In the next window Avere represented the soldiers drawn up, firing at 
the people assembled before them, — the dead on the ground, and the 
wounded falling, with the blood running in streams from their wounds, 
— over which was written," Foul Play." In the third window, was 
the figure of a woman, representing America, sitting on the stump of 
a tree, with a stafi" in her hand, and the cap of liberty on the top 
thereof; one foot on the head of a grenadier, lying prostrate, grasping 
a serpent ; her finger pointing to the tragedy. 

Another authority states that the bells of Boston tolled from nine 
to ten o'clock in the evening, and they were muffled. 

The allusion, in Dr. Young's oration, to the threats of Great Britain, 
and the imputations of treason, forcibly remind one of the firmness 
with which the INIassachusetts colonists resisted every device to decoy 
and divert, most artfully attempted by the minions of the throne. The 
eloquence of bribery fell powerless. Lord Paramount urged, in the 
Revolutionary play, written by the author of the American Chron- 
icles of the Times, published in 1776, — "Don't you know there 's 
such sweet music in the shaking of the treasury keys, that they will 
instantly lock the most babbling patriot's tongue 1 transform a tory 
into a whig, and a whig into a tory ? make a superannuated old miser 
dance, and an old cynic philosopher smile? How many thousand 
times has your tongue danced at Westminster Hall to the sound of 
such music ! " 

3 



26 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

The bold daring of the times was thus forcibly expressed, in an old 
almanac, printed during the contest : 

" Let tyrants rage, and sycophants exclaim ; 
Let tories grumble, parasites defame, 
And all the herd of trembling despots roar. 
And plot revenge ; dependence is no more. 
'T is independence that we will maintain, 
And Britain's tyrant shall no longer reign. 
Britain, adieu ! we seek your aid no more ; 
Nor call you Mother, as we did before." 

We know little of Dr. Thomas Young. He was a member of the 
Committee of Correspondence in 1772. He was a talented writer in 
papers of the day, and in the Royal American ;Magazine, on medical, 
political, and religious subjects. He was one of the tea-party in 1773 ; 
but a groundless tradition exists, that he Avas the person who filled 
his pockets Avith the detestable herb, which being discovered when he 
was on the way home from the ships, some one cut off the skirts of his 
coat, and threw away the tea. The old crier witnessed this scene, 
but cannot state who committed the act. John Adams writes of him 
as his physician. He was an army surgeon in 1776. 

In the Life and Times of General Thomas Lamb, of Revolutionary 
fame, are highly spirited letters from Dr. Young, in one of wliich he 
says, that " Lord North endeavors to still the rising rage of his coun- 
trymen, by assuring them that no other province will, in the least, 
countenance the rebellious Bostonians." And, in allusion to a town- 
meeting at Faneuil Hall, Dr. Young says, it "was conducted with a 
freedom and energy becoming the orators of ancient Rome." We 
descendants of the patriot fathers have no conception of their perils, 
and arc prompted by emotions of veneration, at their decided tone, 
amid the glore of royal liayonets. In Edes and Gill's North American 
Almanac, printed in 1770, we find what is termed " A New Song, 
now much in vogue in North America," which entwines this rebel 



" All ages shall speak with amaze and applause 
Of the courage we '11 show in support of our laws. 
To die we don't fear, but to serve we disdain ; 
We had better not be, than not freemen remain. 
In freedom we 're born, and in freedom we '11 live ; 
Our purses are ready, — 
Steady, friends, steady ; 
Not as slaves, but as freemen, our money we 'II give." 



THE MASSACRE. 27 

The earliest orations were delivered in the Old Brick Church, on the 
site of Cornhill-square, or at the Old South Church, and attended by 
immense crowds of people. Originally, a small stage was erected in 
the northern section of the church, on which were exhibited the sur- 
vivors wounded at the massacre, and a contribution was taken for their 
benefit. These patriotic orations are a protective shield to our consti- 
tution, as they illustrate the principles of civil liberty. 

The honored successor of Washington to the presidency of this glo- 
rious Union, when writing to Dr. Morse in allusion to the memorable 
orations on the massacre, and those succeeding on the national inde- 
pendence, from the peace of 1783 down to the year 1816, thus 
emphasizes : — " These orations were read, I had almost said, by every- 
body that could read, and scarcely ever with dry eyes. They have 
now been continued for forty-five years. Will you read them all 7 
They were not long continued in their original design ; but other gen- 
tlemen, with other views, had influence enough to obtain a change 
from ' standing armies ' to 'feelings which produced the Revolution.' 
Of these forty-five orations, I have read as many as I have seen. 
They have varied with all the changes of our politics. They have 
been made the engine of bringing forward to public notice young 
gentlemen of promising genius, whose connections and sentiments 
were tolerable to the prevailing opinions of the moment. There is 
juvenile ingenuity in all that I have read. There are few men of 
consequence among us who did not commence their career by an ora- 
tion on the fifth of March. I have read these orations with a mixture 
of pleasure and pity. Young gentlemen of genius describing scenes 
they never saw, and descanting on feelings they never felt, — and 
which great pains had been taken they never should feel. When will 
these orations end ? And when will they cease to be • monuments of 
the fluctuations of pubhc opinion, and general feeling, in Boston, Mas- 
sachusetts, and the United States ? They are infinitely more indica- 
tive of the feelings of the moment than of the feehngs that produced 
the Revolution." And, in the conclusion of this letter, he remarks, 
" If I could be fifty years younger, and had nothing better to do, I 
would have these orations collected and printed in volumes, and then 
write the history of the last forty-five years in commentaries upon 
them." The conception of this work was matured, and the materials 
mostly gathered, in relation to every one of the orators introduced, 
before the editor ever read or was aware of the paragraph last quoted 



28 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

from tlie venerable Adams the elder. An entire collection of the 
orations noticed in this book, and published in a connected form, would 
prove a valuable acquisition to the history and literature of our 
country. Our plan differs materially from that suggested by the 
great Nestor of this repubhc. We exhibit striking specimens from 
some of the best of those performances, with opinions respecting their 
character, and present a statement of the lives of their authors, inter- 
spersed with political, historical, and literary reminiscences, unfolding 
a period of eighty years. 

Our plan extends, moreover, to the orators of the Massachusetts 
Cincinnati, the Washington Benevolent, and the Democratic Washing- 
ton Societies ; the eulogists on the deceased presidents, on Warren, on 
Lafayette and Marshall, and almost every other political occasion in 
the great head-quarters of the Revolution, — our own noble Boston! — 
tending to establish the permanence of republican institutions. While 
we mainly concur with President Adams in opinion regarding the 
merits of those which he had examined, we venture to assert that a 
large portion of these productions indicate an ability and patriotic 
spirit that would honor the heads and the hearts of tlie most eminent 
pohticiaus of any age or nation ; and we should view the period when 
such orations would cease as a strong indication of the dechne of this 
great exemplar of all nations. 

A large portion of the materials for this production were gathered 
from the hbraries of the Massachusetts Historical Society, of the Gore 
Library at Cambridge, of the New England lEstoric Genealogical 
Society, of the State Library, of the Boston Library, and of the 
Boston Athenoeum ; to the librarians of which institutions the editor 
renders his grateful acknowledgments for the ready facility extended 
during the research for information. The editor is more especially 
indebted to the ISIassachusetts Historical Society for the generous per- 
mission of access to valuable unpublished manuscripts in their posses- 
sion, from which passages are embodied in this work, greatly enhanc- 
ing its value. Moreover, the editor renders his grateful thanks to Rev. 
Joseph Barlow Felt, the courteous librarian of this institution, and 
author of an Ecclesiastical History of New England, and to Lucius 
Manlius Sargent, Esq., whose experience in historical research ranks 
them with the most profound antiquarians in our country ; to Sam- 
uel G. Drake, Esq., the chronicler of Indian History; and to Dr. 
John C. Warren, for the free use of the Revolutionary manuscript 



JAMES LOVELL. 29 

journal of Dr. John "Warren, liis patriotic father. The editor -will 
never forget the courtesy of gentlemen of the leading professions, in 
rendering information essential to the accuracy of this work, the cata- 
logue of whose names would fill a chapter ; and to recount the mass 
of facts furnished would embrace a large appendix. 



JAMES LOVELL. 

APRIL 2, 1771. ON THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 

As the father and son were remarkable men, and effected much in 
moulding the intellects of the principal actors of the Revolution, we 
will exhibit first the scanty materials regarding the father. INIaster 
John Lovell was the eldest son of John Lovell, who married Priscilla 
Gardiner, June 16th, 1709; and was born at Boston, June 16th, 1710. 
He entered the public Latin school in 1717 ; graduated at Harvard 
College in 1728; became usher of the Latin school in 1729, until 
he was appointed principal in 1734 ; which station he occupied until 
April 19th, 1775, Avhen the school was dispersed by the siege of the 
town, and consequent occupation of the royalists. Mr. Lovell married 
Abigail Green, Sept., 1734. He was an excellent critic, and one of 
the best classical scholars of his day. Though a severe teacher, yet 
he was remarkably humorous, and an agreeable companion. It is 
worthy of record, that he delivered the first published address in 
Faneuil Hall, March 14th, 1742, at the annual meeting of the town, 
occasioned by the death of Peter Faneuil, Esq., the noble donor of the 
hall to the town of Boston. In the peroration of Mr. Lovell's funeral 
oration, he said: "May this hall be ever sacred to the interests of 
truth, of justice, of loyalty, of honor, of liberty. May no private 
views, nor party broils, ever enter these walls." Heaven, in mercy, 
however, otherwise decreed, and to the permanence of republican insti- 
tutions. When the royal troops evacuated Boston, there was left 
unremovedj at the residence of Master Lovell, adjoining the public 
3* 



30 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Latin scliool in School-street, tlie coacli of General Gage, whose head- 
quarters were at the Province House, together with a phaeton and 
harness entire. INIoreover, a chariot of the governor was taken out 
of the dock on Long Wharf, greatly defaced. He was a warm advo- 
cate for the crown, and embarked with the British troops for Halifax, 
when they evacuated the town, March 14th, 177G. We find no 
particulars of his history at Hahfax, Avhere he died in 1778. In the 
gallery of paintings at Harvard College is his portrait, taken by 
Nathaniel, son of John Smybcrt, who came to this country in 1728, 
in company with Bishop Berkeley. Judge Cranch once remarked, " I 
remember that one of his first portraits Avas the picture of his old 
master Lovell, drawn while the terrific impressions of the pedagogue 
were yet vibrating upon his nerves. I found it so perfect a likeness of 
my old neighbor, that I did not wonder when my young friend told 
me that a sudden, undesigned glance at it, had often made him 
shudder." 

Master Lovell was a contributor to the Pietas et Gratulatio Collegii 
Cantabrigiensis, etc., published in 1761. The numbers 2. 25, 26, 
and 27, are ascribed to his hand. The following is the twenty-seventh 
article in the Pietas : 

" While Halley views the heavens with curious eyes, 
And notes the changes in the stormy skies, — 
AVhat constellations 'bode descending rains. 
Swell the proud streams, and fertilize the plains, — 
"What call the zephyrs forth, with favoring breeze 
To waft Britannia's fleets o'er subject seas ; — 
In difierent orbits how the planets run, 
Reflecting rays they borrow from the sun ; — 
Sudden, a distant prospect charms his sight, — 
Venus encircled in the source of light ! 
Wonders to come his ravished thought unfold, 
And thus the Heaven-instructed bard foretold 
What glorious scenes, to ages past unknown, 
Shall in one summer's rolling mouths be shown. 
Auspicious omens yon bright regions wear ; 
Events responsive in the earth appear. 
A golden Phoebus decks the rising morn, — 
Such, glorious George ! thy youthful brows adorn ; 
Nor sparkles Venus on the ethereal plain. 
Brighter than Charlotte, midst the virgin train. 
The illustrious pair conjoined in nuptial ties, 
Britannia shines a rival to the skies ! ' ' 



JAMES LOVELL. 31 

Master Lovell was author, also, of " The Seasons, an Interlocutory 
Exercise at the South Latin School," spoken at the annual visitation, 
June 26, 1765, by Daniel Jones and Jonathan Wilhams Austin, in 
which the latter exclaims : 

" Happy the man, when age has spread 
Its hoary honors on his head, 
Whose mind, on looking back, surveys 
A fruitful life and well-spent days. 
As on the verge of both he stands, 
Both worlds, at once, his view commands : 
Sees earth unwished for, wished for skies, — 
Contented lives, and joyful dies." 

The British troops ascribed their repulse at the battle of Bunker 
Hill to the following circumstance : Directly after they had landed, 
it was discovered that most of the cannon-balls which had been 
brought over were too large for the pieces, and that it was necessary 
to send them back, and obtain a fresh supply. "This wretched 
blunder of over-sized balls," says Gen. Howe, "arose from the dotage 
of an officer of rank in the ordnance department, who spends all his 
time with the schoolmaster's daughter." It seems that Col. Cleveland, 
who, "though no Samson, must have his Delilah," was enamored of 
the beautiful daughter of old Master Lovell, and in order to Avin favor 
with the damsel, had given her younger brother an appointment in the 
ordnance, for which he was not qualified ; and Dr. Jeifries confirmed 
this relation. This error, to whatever cause it might have been OAving, 
created delay, and somewhat diminished the effect of the British fire 
during the first two attacks. A tradition exists that during the battle 
suddenly the fire of the British artillery ceases. Gen. Howe, in con- 
sternation, demands the reason. " The balls are too large." " Fatal 
error!" says Howe; "what delusion drives Col. Cleveland to pass all 
his time with the schoolmaster's daughter, instead qf minding his 
business? Pour in grape ! " The forthcoming allusion to this affair 
appears in a song ascribed to a British soldier, written after the battle : 

" Our conductor, he got broke 

For his misconduct, sure, sir ; 
The shot he sent for twelve-pound guns. 

Were made for twenty-four, sir. 
There 's some in Boston pleased to say, 

As we the field were taking. 



32 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

We went to kill their countrymen 

While they their hay were making. 
For such stout whigs I never saw, — 

To hang them all, I 'd rather. 
For making hay with musket-balls 

And buck-shot mixed together." 

We will now exhibit the outline of the history of INIaster James 
Lovell, who was born at Boston, Oct. 31, 1737 ; entered the public 
Latin school in 1744, and graduated at Harvard College in 1756. He 
became the usher of this school in 1757, which station he filled until 
April 19, 1775, when the school was suspended by the war. He was 
also master of the North Grammar, now the Eliot school. The Latin 
school was revived, Nov. 8, 1776. He married, at Trinity Church, 
Mary, daughter of Alexander Middleton, a native of Scotland, Nov. 
24, 1760. 

On the morning before the town committee had reached his resi- 
dence, to invite him to deliver an oration on the massacre, his father 
took occasion, at the breakfast-table, according to the tradition, to 
advise him not to accept the appointment, as his inexperience in public 
matters was not equal to the effort ; nor could he expect, if he were, 
that the undertaking would result in any pubhc benefit, or personal 
advantage to himself " Besides, my son," said the old gentleman, 
"there is a consideration in this matter, above all others: there is 
danger in the attempt, — your life will be in jeopardy." " Is that the 
case, father?" said Lovell; "then my mind is decided; my resolu- 
tion is fixed, that I will attempt it at every hazard ! " Whether or not 
this relation be fact, it was perfectly characteristic of the man. The 
people assembled at Faneuil Hall to listen to the young orator, when 
the throng being too great, the audience forthwith adjourned to the 
Old South Church, and after a fervent prayer by the Rev. Dr. 
Chavmcy, an oration was pronounced by James Lovell, that received 
"the universal acceptance of the audience;" after which, the thanks 
of the town were voted him, and a committee appointed to request a 
copy for the press. He remarked, in this performance, that "the 
design of this ceremony was decent, wise, and honorable. ]\Iake the 
bloody fifth of March the era of the resurrection of your birthrights, 
which have been murdered by the very strength that nursed them in 
their infancy." And towards the close of the oration, he remarks: 
" Havinof declared myself an American son of liberty, of true 



JAMES LOVELL. 33 

charter principles, — having shown the critical and dangerous situation 
of our birthrights, and the true course for speedy redress, — I shall 
take the freedom to recommend with boldness one previous step. Let 
us show we understand the true value of what we are claiming." 

Mr. Lovell was an excellent scholar, and of famous reputation ; but 
detraction, ever seeking to wound those most esteemed, frowned its 
odious visage upon him. John Adams says, in his diary, under date 
of January 7, 1766 : " Samuel Waterhouse, of the customs, the most 
notorious scribbler, satirist, and libeller, in the service of the conspira- 
tors against the liberties of America, made a most malicious, ungen- 
erous attack upon James Lovell, Jr., the usher of the grammar school, 
as others had attacked him about idleness, and familiar spirits, and 
zanyship, and expectancy of a deputation." 

The residence of James Lovell, during the Revolution, was on the 
estate where Chapman Hall is now located, and his family witnessed 
on the house-top the burning of CharlestOAvn during the battle of 
Bunker Hill. While Mr. Lovell was imprisoned in the Boston jail, in 
Queen-street, in consequence of General Howe having discovered a 
prohibited correspondence, proving his adherence to the Revolutionary 
cause, his devoted wife was daily accustomed to convey his food to the 
prison door. They had eight sons, and one daughter, Mary, who was 
married to Mark Pickard, a merchant of Boston, whose daughter was 
the wife of Rev. Henry Ware, of Harvard College. After the Revo- 
lution, Mr. Lovell resided in Hutchinson-street, located on Sturgis- 
place. 

After the battle of Bunker Plill, thirty-one captives were imj^risoned 
in Boston jail, among whom was Mr. Lovell, who wrote a pathetic 
letter to Washington, dated Provost's Prison, Boston, Nov. 19, 1775, 
in which he said: "Your excellency is already informed that the 
powers of the military government established in this town have been 
wantonly and cruelly exercised against me, from the 29th of June last. 
I have in vain repeatedly solicited to be brought to some kind of trial 
for my pretended crimes. Li answer to a petition of that sort, pre- 
sented on the 16th of October, I am directed, by Col. Balfour, aid-de- 
camp to Gen. Howe, to seek the release of Col. Skene and his so7i, 
as the sole means of my enlargement. 

" This proposition appears to me extremely disgraceful to the party 
from which it comes ; and a compliance with it pregnant with danger- 
ous consequences to my fellow-citizens. But, while my own spirit 



34 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

prompts mc to reject it directly vfith the keenest disdain, the impor- 
tunity of my distressed AvifC; and the advice of some whom I esteem, 
have checked me down to a consent to give your excellency this inform- 
ation. I have the fullest confidence in your wisdom, and I shall be 
perfectly resigned to your determination, whatever it may be. I must 
not, however, omit to say, that should you condescend to stigmatize 
the proceeding of my enemies by letter, the correction might work 
some change in favor of myself, or at least of my family; which must, 
I think, perish through want of fuel and provisions, in the approach- 
ing winter, if they continue to be deprived of my assistance." 

Master Lovell addressed another letter, Dec. 6, 1775, to General 
Washington, in which he remarked: " Charged with being a spy, and 
giving intelligence to the rebels, I have been suffering the pains and 
indignities of imprisonment from the 29th of June last, without any 
sort of trial. Capt. Balfour, aid-de-camp to Gen. Howe, some time 
ago directed Mrs. Lovell to tell me, from the commander-in-chief, that 
I must o])tain the exchange of Col. Skene and his son, as the only 
condition of my enlargement ; and I have waited weeks in a vain hope 
of being enabled to write Avith more precision to your excellency. I 
have no argument but of a private nature to make use of, upon this 
occasion ; and it is addressed to your excellency's humanity, which I 
am well satisfied will attend the decision of your wisdom. I myself 
am reduced to such a risk of life, and my family to such miseries, by 
my imprisonment, as to make both objects of compassion to all who are 
not learnedly barbarous and cruel." 

Washington wrote to Hancock, in a letter dated Jan. 30, 1776 : " I 
shall, in obedience to the order of Congress, though interdicted by 
Gen. Howe, propose an exchange of Col. Skene for Mr. Lovell and 
his family ; and shall be happy to have an opportunity of putting this 
deserving man, who has shown his fidelity and regard to his country 
to be too great for persecution and cruelty to overcome, in any post 
agreeable to his wishes and inclinations." Here is a tribute to Lovell 
from the immortal Washington, of greater value than the most 
renowned heraldry. 

Mr. Lovell was detained in prison, regardless of the intercession of 
Washington, until the British army evacuated the town, when he Avas 
conveyed to Halifax, where he was kept in close confinement. Thus, 
while the father was at Halifax an honored follower of the crown, the 
son was degraded for an adherence to the eagle. His family were pro- 



JAMES LOVELL. 85 

tected bj the respected Dr. Joseph Gardner, in whose dwelling they 
resided, — located on Marlboro' -street, — until his return from cap- 
tivity. Mr. Lovell happened to be doomed to the same prison in 
which the famous Col. Ethan Allen was confined, with several other 
Americans. Allen had been a wanderer during his captivity, having 
been first sent from Montreal to England in irons, and then trans- 
ported back to Halifax, by way of Ireland and North Carolina. Mr. 
Lovell was finally exchanged for Gov. Skene, of Ticonderoga, on Nov. 
1776, and arrived in Boston on the 30th day, by way of New York. 
The hardships of imprisonment rather impaired his intellect, though 
its power was never dethroned. There was a deep rancor against 
Mr. Lovell, when in Boston jail, for having publicly repeated, in his 
oration on the massacre, what the royalists had taught him by experi- 
ence, "that slaves envy the freedom of others, and take malicious 
pleasure in contributing to destroy it;" — being a citation from Black- 
stone. And another matter that excited prejudice was the getting 
possession of a note written to one going to Point Shirley, which Gen. 
Howe had intercepted. Consequently he was closely locked up, and 
debarred the use of pen, ink, and paper, though he declared his inno- 
cence of any forbidden correspondence. 

In Dec. 1776, James Lovell was elected to the Continental Con- 
gress, for his native state. On the third of May, 1778, Mr. Lovell 
wrote to Arthur Lee as follows: "In the month of October, 1775, I 
used the freedom of writing to you from Boston prison, by a Mr. 
William Powell, who had also in charge some papers to enable you to 
stigmatize the mean cruelties of Gage, who was then exulting in his 
command ; but the papers Avhich I afterwards sent you from Halifax 
jail, by an amiable lady, afforded proofs of scientific barbarity in 
Howe, which tended to obliterate the memory of what I had endured 
under his predecessor. I had the imagination, at that time, of pur- 
suing those men personally to Europe ; but when I heard my country- 
men had wisely declared independence, I felt myself instantly repaid 
for all my losses and bodily injuries. I will not endeavor to constrain 
you to believe that I am governed, at this day, by feelings and 
motives of the most laudable patriotism. I am not anxious to disavow 
a degree of the spirit of retaliation, which our enemies seem to have 
been industrious to excite in us. It would be false affectation of 
universal benevolence to say I lament the present disgrace of Britain. 



36 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Whetlier she mends upon it or not, I must rejoice at it, though upon 
different principles." 

It is a singular coincidence to this remark, that the editor, while 
■writing in the book-store of Drake the antiquarian, had his attention 
directed to a passage in Boswell's Johnson, which Mr. Drake held in 
his hand at the moment, where Johnson, in conversing with Miss 
Seward, says, April 15th, 1778, "I am willing to love all mankind, 
except an American." Miss Seward, looking at him with mild and 
steady astonishment, said, " Sir, this is an instance that we are always 
most violent against those we have injured." 

We find in the London Political Register for 1780 the following 
severe remarks on the character of Mr. Lovell, because of his repub- 
lican course : "In the pockets of Warren, the rebel commander, killed 
at Bunker Hill, were found letters from James Lovell, a rebel spy, 
stating the number and disposition of the troops in Boston, with a 
variety of other information. The spy, instead of being sentenced to 
the gallows and executed, was only taken up and detained in custody ; 
and when our army was at New York, he was discharged, at the 
request of some of the rebel chiefs. The deputy commissary of 
prisoners saw him safely on board the cartel ship, and laid in for him 
the best provisions the place could supply. Lovell, instead of being 
grateful for this, the instant he landed in the rebel territory, wrote 
the commissary a most abusive letter ; and, by this inflimous behavior, 
having arrived at the summit of villany, was, in the opinion of the 
rebels of Massachusetts, deemed a fit person to represent them in Con- 
gress : accordingly, as soon as he set his foot in Boston, he was chosen 
one of their delegates to Congress. The rebel spies and prisoners 
taken by our troops have been always treated with a lenity nearly 
akin to folly ; the rebels never imputed it to our humanity, but to our 
timidity and dread of them." 

The Political Register quotes a passage from an intercepted letter 
of Mr. Lovell, dated Philadelphia, Nov. 20, 1780, addressed to Mr. 
Gerry, in which he said : " Is it not time to pay a visit to Massachu- 
setts ? Does my wife look as if she wanted a toothless, grayheaded, 
sciatic husband near her ? I am more benefit to her at a distance 
than in conjunction, as the almanac has it." 

In 1784 Mr. Lovell was appointed receiver of Continental taxes, 
and during the confederacy of 1788 and '89 he was the collector for 



DR. BENJAMIN CHURCH. 37 

the port of Boston. He was the naval officer of Boston from 1790 
until his decease, at Windham, Maine, July 14, 1814. 

Mr. Lovell published several tracts. In 1760 he delivered an 
oration in Latin, to the memory of the- venerable Henry Flint, ^yho 
was fifty-five years a tutor of Harvard College. In 1808, Propaga- 
tion of Truth, or Tyranny Anatomized ; Sketches of Man as He is, 
connected with the Past and Present Mode of Education ; A Letter 
to the President of the United States, supposed by the writer to be 
fitted specially for the Age and Courage of the Young Federal Repub- 
licans of Boston, and also to be calculated generally to promote the 
comfort of all gray-headed as well as green-headed free citizens every- 
where : dated, July 4, 1805. 



DR. BENJAMIN CHURCH. 

MARCH 5, 1773. ON THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 

Dr. Benjamin- Church was a son of Deacon Benjamin Church, 
of Mather Byles' church, in Boston; and was born at Newport, R. I., 
Aug. 24, 1734. He entered the Latin school in 1745, and graduated 
at Harvard College in 1754. He was a student in the London Med- 
ical College, and walked the hospitals, daily visiting all the wards. 
He married Miss Hannah Hill, of Ross, in Herefordshire, a sister of 
his early friend, a young student in London. He returned to Boston, 
and had Benjamin, who married a lady of London, and became a 
surgeon in the British araiy ; James Miller, born 1759 ; Sarah, 
born 1761, who married Benjamin Weld, a tory refugee ; Hannah, 
born 1764, who married William Kirkby, a merchant of London, and 
had sixteen children. It is to a descendant of this branch that the 
editor is indebted for information. 

Dr. Church was the surgeon who examined the body of Crispus 
Attucks, killed by the British soldiers in the massacre of 1770 ; and 
his deposition is printed in the narrative of the town. He was the 
4 



38 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

first Grand Master of the Rising Sun Lodge, instituted in 1772. Dr. 
Church pronounced the oration on the massacre, at the Old South; and 
SO vast was the throng of people to hear it, that the orator, and John 
Hancock, the moderator of thisadjourned town-meeting, were obliged to 
be taken in at a window. It was received " with universal applause," 
and directly after its delivery the people unanimously requested a copy 
for the press. Dr. Eliot says of it, that "it is certainly one of the 
very best of the Boston orations." He had genius and taste, and was 
an excellent writer in poetry and prose, consisting mostly of essays of 
a witty and philological nature, which are scattered in newspapers 
and publications almost obsolete. 

On the evening after the delivery of this oration, the lantern 
exhibition appeared from Mrs. Clapham's balcony, in King-street; and 
in one of the chamber windows Avas inscribed the following impas- 
sioned effusion : 

" Canst thou, spectator, view this crimsoned scene, 
And not reflect what these sad portraits mean ? 
Or can thy slaughtered brethren's guiltless gore 
Revenge, in vain, from year to year implore ? 
Ask not where Preston or his butchers are ! 
But ask, who brought those bloody villains here? 
Never for instruments forsake the cause. 
Nor spare the wretch who would subvert the laws ! 
That ruthless fiend, who, for a trifiing hire. 
Would murder scores, or set a town on fire. 

Compared with him who would a land enslave, 

Appears an inconsiderable knave. 

And shall the first adorn the fat.al tree, 

AVhile, pampered and caressed, the last goes free ? 

Forbid it, thou whose eye no bribe can blind. 

Nor fear can influence, nor favor bind ! 

Thy justice drove one murderer to despair ; 

And shall a number live iu riot here ? 

Live and appear to glory in the crimes 

"Which hand destruction down to future times ? 

Yes, ye shall live ! but live like branded Cain, 

In daily dread of being nightly slain ; 

And when the anxious scene on earth is o'er, 

Your names shall stink till time shall be no more ! " 

We cannot restrain the desire to present the peroration of the 
oration so much applauded : "By Heaven, they die ! Thus nature 
spoke, and the swollen heart leaped to execute the dreadful purpose. 
Dire was the interval of rage, — fierce was the conflict of the soul. In 



DR. BENJAMIN CHURCH. 39 

that important hour, did not the stalking ghosts of our stern fore- 
fathers point us to bloody deeds of vengeance? Did not the con- 
sideration of our expiring liberties impel us to remorseless havoc? 
But, hark ! the guardian God of New England issues his awful man- 
date, — Peace, be still ! Hushed was the bursting war ; the lowering 
tempest frowned its rage awaj. Confidence in that God, beneath 
whose wing we shelter all our cares, — that blessed confidence released 
the dastard, the cowering prey; with haughty scorn we refused to 
become their executioners, and nobly gave them to the wrath of 
Heaven. But words can poorly paint the horrid scene. Defenceless, 
prostrate, bleeding countrymen, — the piercing, agonizing groans, — 
the mingled moan of weeping relatives and friends, — these best can 
speak, to rouse the luke-warm into noble zeal, —to fire the zealous into 
manly rage against the foul oppression of quartering troops in pop- 
ulous cities in times of peace." 

There is but one sentence in this admired production that could be 
cdnstrued in the least degree to indicate the fear that this vigorous 
mind would ever forsake the cause of injured humanity, wherein he 
says, " The constitution of England I revere to a degree of idolatry." 
This, however, is directly qualified, for he continues, "but my attach- 
ment is to the common weal. The magistrate will ever command my 
respect by the integrity and wisdom of his administrations." 

Dr. Church was a Boston representative, a member of the Provin- 
cial Congress in 1774, and physician-general to the patriot army in 
that year. 

About the year 17G8, Dr. Church erected an elegant mansion at 
Raynham, on the side of Nippahonsit pond, " allured, perhaps," says 
Dr. Allen, "by the pleasures of fishing." Probably it was thus that 
he created a pecuniary embarrassment, which led to his defection from 
the cause of his country. A letter written in cipher, to his brother 
in Boston, was intrusted by him to a young woman, with whom he was 
said to be living in crime. The mysterious letter was found upon her ; 
but, the doctor having opportunity to speak to her, it was only by the 
force of threats that the name of the writer was extorted from her. 
It was for some time difficult to find any person capable of decipher- 
ing Dr. Church's letter, but at length it was effected by Rev. Dr. 
Samuel West, of New Bedford. When Washington charged him with 
his baseness, he never attempted to vindicate himself 

Washington stated, in a letter to Hancock, dated Cambridge, Oct. 5, 



40 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

1775 : " I bave now a painful, though a necessary duty to perform, 
respecting Dr. Church, director-general of the hospital. About a 
week ago, Mr. Secretary Ward, of Providence, sent up to me one 
Wainwood, an inhabitant of Newport, with a letter directed to Major 
Cane, in Boston, in characters ; which, he said, had been left with 
Wainwood some time ago, by a woman who was kept by Dr. Church. 
She had before pressed Wainwood to take her to Capt. Wallace, at 
Newport, Mr. Dudley the collector, or George Kowe, which he 
declined. She then gave him a letter, with a strict charge to deliver 
it to either of those gentlemen. He, suspecting some improper cor- 
respondence, kept the letter, and after some time opened it ; but, not 
being able to read it, laid it up, where it remained until he received an 
obscure letter from the woman, expressing an anxiety after the original 
letter. ' He then communicated the whole matter to Mr. Ward, who 
sent him up with the papers to me. I immediately secured the 
woman ; but for a long time she was proof against every threat and 
persuasion to discover the author. However, at length she wa« 
brought to a confession, and named Dr. Church. I then immediately 
secured him, and all his papers. Upon his first examination, he readily 
acknowledged the letter j said it was designed for his brother Fleming, 
and when deciphered would be found to contain nothing criminal. 
He acknowledged his never having communicated the correspondence to 
any person here, but the girl, and made many protestations of the 
purity of his intentions. Having found a person capable of decipher- 
ing the letter, I, in the mean time, had all his papers searched, but 
found nothing criminal among them. But it appeared, on inquiry, 
that a confidant had been among the papers before my messenger 
arrived." 

We select this passage from Dr. Church's intercepted letter : " For 
the sake of the miserable convulsed empire, repeal the acts, or Britain 
is undone. This advice is the result of warm aifection to my king 
and the realm. Remember, I never deceived you." 

He was convicted by court-martial, Oct. 3, 1775, of which Wash- 
in o-ton was president, "of holding a criminal correspondence with the 
enemy." He was imprisoned at Cambridge. On Oct. 27, he was 
called to the bar of the House of Representatives, and examined. His 
defence before the house, printed in the Historical Collections, was a 
specimen of brilliant talents and great ingenuity. That the letter was 
desif^ned for his brother, but, not being sent, he had communicated no 



DR. BENJAMIN CHURCH. 41 

intelligence : that there was nothing in the letter but notorious facts : 
that his exaggerations of the American force could only be designed 
to favor the cause of liberty : and that the object Avas purely patriotic. 
"Confirmed," said he, "in assured innocence, I stand prepared for 
your keenest searchings. The warmest bosom here does not flame with 
a brighter zeal for the security, happiness, and liberties, of America." 
He was expelled from the house ; and the Continental Congress after- 
wards resolved that he should be confined in jail in Connecticut, and 
"debarred the use of pen, ink, and paper." He was afterwards 
allowed to occasionally ride out, under a trusty guard. Madam 
Adams, in alluding to the treachery of Dr. Church, remarked at 
that time: "You may as Avell hope to bind up a hungry tiger with 
a cobweb, as to hold such debauched patriots in the visionary chains 
of decency, or to charm them with the intellectual beauty of truth 
and reason." His residence, in Boston, was at the south corner of 
Avon-place. Dr. Thatcher says, " There were not a few among the 
most respectable and intelligent in the community who expressed 
strong doubts of a criminal design in Iris conduct." Our readers, 
however, need only to examine the statement of Paul Revere, in the 
succeeding paragraphs, to have their minds satisfied of his treacherous 
conduct. It appears in a letter to Rev. Dr. John Eliot, corresponding 
secretary of the Massachusetts Historical Society, dated Boston, Jan. 
1, 1798: "In the flill of 1774, and winter of 1775, I was one of 
upwards of thirty, chiefly mechanics, who formed ourselves into a 
committee, for the purpose of watching the movements of the British 
soldiers, and gaining every intelligence of the movements of the tories. 
We held our meetings at the Green Dragon Tavern. We were so care- 
ful that our meetings should be kept secret, that every time we met, 
every person swore upon the Bible that they would not discover any 
of our transactions, but to Hancock, Adams, Drs. Warren, Church, 
and one or two more. About November, when things began to grow 
serious, a gentleman who had connections with the tory party, but 
was a whig at heart, acquainted me that our meetings were discovered, 
and mentioned the identical words that were spoken among us the 
night before. We did not then distrust Dr. Church, but supposed it 
must be some one among us. We removed to another place, which 
we thought was more secure ; but here Ave found that all our transac- 
tions were communicated to Gov. Gage. This came to me through 
the then secretary, Flucker. He told it to the gentleman mentioned 
4# 



42 - THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

above. It was then a common opinion that there Avas a traitor in the 
Provincial Congress, and that Gage was possessed of all their secrets. 
Dr. Church appeared to be a high son of liberty. He frequented all 
the places where thej met ; was encouraged by all the leaders of the 
sons of liberty ; and it appeared he was respected by them, though I 
knew that Dr. Warren had not the greatest respect for him. Though 
it was known that some of the liberty songs which he composed were 
parodized by him in favor of the British, yet none dare charge him 
with it. I Avas a constant and critical observer of him, and I must 
say that I never thought him a man of principle, and I doubted much, 
in my own mind, whether he was a real whig. I knew that he kept 
company with a Capt. Price, a half-pay British officer ; and that he 
frequently dined Avith him and Robinson, one of the commissioners. 
I know that one of his intimate acquaintance asked him why he was 
so often with Robinson and Price. His answer was, that he kept 
company with them on purpose to find out their plans. The day after 
the battle of Lexington, I met him *in Cambridge, Avhen he shew me 
some blood on his stocking, which, he said, spirted on him from a man 
who was killed near him, as he was urging the militia on. I well 
remember that I argued with myself, if a man will risk his life in a 
cause, he must be a friend to that cause ; and I never suspected him 
after, till he Avas charged Avith being a traitor. 

" The same day, I met Dr. Warren. He was president of the 
Committee of Safety. He engaged me as a messenger to do the out- 
of-doors business for the committee, Avhich gave me an opportunity of 
being frequently with them. The Friday evening after, about sunset, 
I was sitting with some or near all that committee, in their room, 
which was at Mr. Hastings' house, in Cambridge. Dr. Church, all at 
once, started up. ' Dr. Warren,' said he, ' I am determined to go 
into Boston to-morrow.' It set them all a staring. Dr. Warren 
replied. ' Are you serious. Dr. Church? They will hang you, if they 
catch you in Boston.' He replied, 'I am serious, and am determined 
to go, at all adventures.' After a considerable conversation. Dr. War- 
ren said, 'If you are determined, let us make some business for you.' 
They agreed that he should go to get medicine for their and our 
wounded officers. He went the next morning, and I think he came 
back on Sunday CA^ening. After he had told the committee how 
things were, I took him aside, and inquired particularly how they 
treated him. He said, that ' as soon as he got to their lines, on 



DR. BENJAMIN CHURCH. 43 

Boston Neck, tliey made him a prisoner, and carried him to Gen. 
Gage, where he was examined ; and then he was sent to Gould's liar- 
racks, and was not suffered to go home but once. After he was taken 
up for holding a correspondence with the British, I came across Dea. 
Caleb Davis. We entered into conversation about him. He told me 
that the morning Church went into Boston, he (Davis) received a 
billet for Gen. Gage ; — (he then did not know that Church was in 
town.) When he got to the general's house, he was told the general 
could not be spoke with, — that he was in private with a gentleman : 
that he waited near half an hour, when Gen. Gage and Dr. Church 
came out of a room, discoursing together like persons who had been long 
acquainted. He appeared to be quite surprised at seeing Dea. Davis 
there ; that he (Church) went where he pleased, while in Boston, onlj 
a Major Caine, one of Gage's tools, went with him. I was told by 
another person, whom I could depend upon, that he saw Church go into 
Gen. Gage's house at the above time ; that he got out of the chaise 
and went up the steps more like a man that was acquainted than a 
prisoner. 

" Some time after, — perhaps a year or two" — I fell in compai^y 
with a gentleman who studied with Church. In discoursing about him, 
I related what I have mentioned above. He said he did not doubt that 
he was in the interest of the British, and that it was he who informed 
Gen. Gage ; that he knew for certain that, a short time before the 
Battle of Lexington, — for he then lived with him, and took care of his 
business and books, — he had no money by him, and was much drove 
for money; that, all at once, he had several hundred new British 
guineas; and that he thought at the time where they came from." 

When released from his imprisonment in Norwich jail. Conn., Ms,j, 
1776, he set sail from Boston for London, — some say for the West 
Indies ; and, according to a family tradition, the vessel was wrecked 
near the Boston Light-house, and all on board perished. Our prin- 
cipal authorities state, however, that after he left Boston he was never 
heard from. His family was pensioned by the crown. 

We cannot conclude this article before introducing an incident. 
Col. Revere was the first President of the Massachusetts Mechanics' 
Charitable Association, and a copper-plate engraver. In the year 
1768, the Legislature of Massachusetts voted to send a circular letter 
to the several Provinces, on the alarming state of this country, and 
inviting a convention to oppose a taxation without the consent of the 



44 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

representatives of the people. The king directed Governor Bernard 
to demand that the said vote be rescinded and obHterated. A vote was 
passed, June 30, 1768, not to conform to it, seventeen members only 
voting in favor of it, and ninety-two in the negative. The seventeen 
members were stigmatized with the name of Rescinders, and treated 
with contempt. Paul Revere engraved a caricature, entitled "A Warm 
Place — Hell." The delineation was a pair of monstrous open jaws, 
resembling those of a shark, with flames issuing ; and Satan, with a 
large pitchfork, driving the seventeen Rescinders into the flames, 
exclaiming, "Now I've got you! A fine haul, by Jove!" As a 
reluctance is shown by the foremost man at entering, who is supposed 
to represent the Hon. Timothy Ruggles, afterward a brigadier-general 
of Worcester county, another devil is drawn, with a fork, flying 
towards him, and crying out, " Push on, Tim ! " Over the upper 
jaw is seen, in the back-ground, the cupola of the Province-house, 
with the Indian and bow and arrow, the arms of the Province, where 
was the residence of the governor. When Revere was engaged in 
executing this caricature, Dr. Benj. Church came into his ofiice, and 
seeing what he was about, took a pen and wrote the following lines as 
an accompaniment : 

«' On, brave Rescinders ! to yon yawning cell, — 
Seventeen such miscreants sure will startle hell. 
There puny villains, damned for petty sin, 
On such distinguished scoundrels gaze and grin ; 
The outdone Devil will resign his sway, — 
He never curst his millions in a day." 

'■ Instead of subject colonies," remarks Daniel Webster, " England 
now beholds on these shores a mighty rival, rich, powerful, intelligent, 
like herself And may these countries be forever friendly rivals. May 
their power and greatness, sustaining themselves, be always directed 
to the promotion of the peace, the prosperity, the enlightenment, and 
the liberty of mankind ; and, if it be their united destiny, in the course 
of human events, that they be called upon, in the cause of humanity 
and in the cause of freedom, to stand against a world in arms, they 
are of a race and of a blood to meet that crisis, without shrinking from 
danger, and without quailing in the presence of earthly power." 



y 



JOSEPH WARREN, M. D. 45 



JOSEPH WARREN, M. D. 

MARCH 5, 1772. ON THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 

Tub name of Warren appears on the Roll of Battle Abbey, as 
being of those engaged in the Battle of Hastings, under William the 
Conqueror, Oct. 14, 1066. It appears also in Doomsday Book, pub- 
hshed in 1081. William de Warrene, the first of the name according 
to Duncan's Dulccs of Normandy, related to Duke Wilham on the side 
of his mother, who was niece to the Duchess Gouner, took his name 
from the fief of Varenne, or Warrene, in the district of St. Aub-in-le- 
Cauf Warrene received from the Conqueror two hundred and ninety- 
eif^ht manors, and in 1073 he was adjoined to Richard de Bienfiiite 
as Grand Justiciary of England. He was created Earl of Surrey, by 
Wilham Rufus, in 1089, and died shortly afterwards. He Avas buried 
in the Abbey of Lewes, in Sussex, which he had founded. 

The ancestry of General Joseph Warren has long been a subject of 
doubtful speculation, as it could not be traced to the ancient families 
either of Plymouth or Watertov^^n. After careful research. Aye believe 
it traceable to the public records of Boston. Doubtless the ancestor of 
this family was Peter Warren, a mariner, who, according to Suffolk 
Deeds, purchased an estate of Theodore Atkinson, of Boston, March 
8, 1659, " situated on the south side of Boston, next the water-side, 
opposite and against Dorchester Neck." This was a part of ancient 
Mattapan, now South Boston. On his decease, he gave his. dwelling- 
house and land to his widow Esther, for and during her natural life, in 
case she continue a widow, and not otherwise. In case she happen to 
marry again, the estate should revert to his son Joseph ; or, at her 
decease, if a widow, he bequeathed the same to him. He married 
three times, and died at Boston, Nov. 15, 1704, aged 76 years. His 
Avill is in Suffolk Probate. His son Joseph, according to Suffolk Deeds, 
couA^eyed, April 15, 1714, this estate to Henry Hill, distiller, for eighty 
pounds, with the reserve, that his widowed mother Esther should have 
a life occupancy, and profits and benefits of the same. It was located 
in Boston, at the south part of the tOAvn, and bounded southerly at 
the front by Essex-street, fifty-seven feet; westerly by the land of 



46 THE HUXDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Isaac Goose, eighty-one feet ; northerly by the land of Henry Cole, 
thirty-one feet ; easterly by the land of Whitman, eighty-four feet ; — 
■with the buildings, wells, water-courses, &c. A distillery has long 
been located on this estate, bounded by South-street, and is improved 
by Wilham E. French. This was doubtless the ancestral residence. 
We find no conveyance of real estate to Peter Warren at any other 
period. 

Sarah, the first wife of Peter Warren, was admitted to the Old 
South Church, by dismission. May 22, 1670. His second wife, Han- 
nah, was received in the same church, by dismission also, April 30, 
1675 ; and his third wife, Esther, Avas admitted to that church, also 
by dismission, Oct. 11, 1687. 

The baptisms of the children are on the records of the Old South 
Church, and correspond with the births on the records of Boston, as 
follows : Peter Warren married Sarah, a daughter of Robert Tucker, 
of Dorchester, Aug. 1, 1660, by whom he had John, born Sept. 8, 
1661 ; Joseph, born Feb. 19, 1662 ; Benjamin, born July 25, 1665 ; 
Ehzabeth, born Jan. 4, 1667; Robert, born Dec. 14, 1670 ; Ebenezer. 
born Feb. 11, 1672; Peter, born April 20, 1676; Hannah, by his 
wife Hannah, born May 19, 1680 ; Mary, born Nov. 24, 1683 ; 
Robert, born Dec. 24, 1684. 

Joseph, the second son of Peter, who, according to Suffolk Deeds, 
was a house-nTight, married Deborah, a daughter of Samuel Williams, 
of Roxbury, where he settled, and had eight children ; among whom 
was Joseph, born Feb. 2, 1696. He died at Roxbury, July 13, 1729, 
aged 66 ; and this corresponds with the Boston record of his birth. 
His will was proved August 1st of that date. 

Joseph, Jr., son of Joseph of Roxbury, married Mary, daughter of 
Dr. Samuel Stevens, of that town, May 29, 1740. He is named, on 
Suffolk Probate, as "gentleman." He was a respectable farmer, and 
was the fii'st person who cultivated an apple, with a fine blush on one 
side, famous as the Warren Russet. The Boston News-Letter thus 
relates the tale of his decease, in a note dated Roxbury, Oct. 25, 1755: 

" On Wednesday last a sorro^^vful accident happened here. As Mr. 
Joseph Warren, of this town, was gathering apples from a tree, standing 
upon a ladder at a considerable distance from the ground, he fell from 
thence, broke his neck, and expired in a few moments. He was 
esteemed a man of good understanding, industrious, upright, honest, 
and faithful; — a serious, exemplary Christian, a useful member of 



JOSEPH WARREN, M. D. 47 

society. He was generally respected amongst us, and liis death is 
universally lamented." 

Joseph, 3d, a son of Joseph, Jr., was born at Roxbury, June 11, 
1741. He graduated at Harvard College, 1759, and was a public- 
school teacher at Roxbury, in 1760. The old mansion in which he 
was born has been demolished, and an exact model of it, made partly 
of the original materials, is retained in the flxmily of Dr. Brown, who 
married a daughter of Dr. John Warren. A painting of the estate 
is in the family of Dr. John C. Warren. An elegant stone building 
has been erected on the location. The inscriptions herewith are chis- 
eled on the front side of the second story of the edifice ; that on the 
right hand is as follows : 

" On this spot stood the house erected in 1720 by Joseph Wan-en, of 
Boston, remarkable for being the birthplace of General Joseph War- 
ren, his grandson, who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 
17, 1775." The inscription on the left hand is as follows : " John 
Warren, a distinguished physician and anatomist, Avas also born here. 
The original mansion being in ruins, this house was built by John C. 
Warren, M. D., in 1846, son of the last named, as a permanent 
memorial of the spot." The estate is in Warren-street, on Warren- 
place, opposite St. James' -street. 

Warren was ever remarkable for fearless intrepidity. When at 
college, some of his classmates were engaged in a merriment which 
they knew Warren would not approve, and adopted a plan to prevent 
his attendance. They fastened the door of the apartment, which was 
in the upper story of a college building. Warren, finding that he 
could not get in at the door, and perceiving that there was an open 
window, determined to effect his entrance by that way, from the roof 
He accordingly ascended the stairs to the top of the building, and, getting 
out upon the roof, let himself down to the eaves, and thence, by the 
aid of a spout, to a level with the open window, through which he 
leaped into the midst of the conspirators. The spout, which was of 
wood, was so much decayed by time, that it fell to the ground as 
Warren relaxed his hold upon it. His classmates, hearing the crash, 
rushed to the window, and when they perceived the cause, loudly con- 
gratulated him upon the escape. He coolly remarked that the spout 
had retained its position just long enough to serv^e his purpose; and, 
without further notice of the accident, proceeded to remonstrate with 



48 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

them on the mischief they intended to perpetrate, which had the 
desired effect. 

In the period of the Revolution a gallows was erected on the Neck, 
near Roxbury, for the public execution of criminals. One day, when 
he was passing the spot, he met three British officers, one of whom 
called to him, saying, "Go on, Warren; you will soon come to the 
gallows ! " It was very evident they meant to insult him, as they 
burst into a loud laugh as soon as it was uttered. Warren was not a 
man to submit to an insult from any one, least of all from them. He 
immediately turned back, walked up to them, and calmly requested to 
know which of them had thus addressed him. Not one of them had 
the courage to avow his insolence. Finding he could obtain no answer, 
he at last left them, ashamed of themselves and each other, but pleased 
to escape so easily. This is related on the authority of Dr. John C. 
Warren. 

Gen. Warren resided several years in Boston, on the location of 
the present American House, nearly opposite Elm-street. Wired 
skulls, from his anatomical room, were discovered, in excavating the 
earth, about the year 1835. He was a member of Rev. Dr. Cooper's 
church, in Brattle-street, and his pew was located opposite the old 
southern door, in the body of the house, which he selected for the pre- 
vention of disturbance, when abruptly called on for medical aid. 

The late Governor Eustis, who was, in 1774, a student of medicine 
under Warren, relates that, in returning to his dwelling, he passed 
several British officers in Queen-street, among whom was Col. Yfol- 
cott, who subsequently became notorious for a paltry insult, in address- 
ing General Washington as "Mr. Washington," in a letter on the 
subject of prisoners ; and, as the friends of Warren were then con- 
stantly expecting that some attempt would be made to seize him by 
the regulars, Eustis stated the circumstance, and advised him not to 
leave the house. Warren rephed, " I have a visit to make to a lady in 
Cornhill, this evening, and I will go at once ; come with me." He 
then put his pistols in his pocket, and they went out. They passed 
several British officers, without molestation from them. It wffs ascer- 
tained, the next day, that they were watching for two pieces of cannon 
which had been removed by some Bostonians, of which a relation is 
given in the outhne of John Hancock. Warren, having his spirit 
fretted, one day, by some of the taunts frequently uttered by British 
officers, exclaimed, " These fellows say we won't fight. By heavens ' 



JOSEPH WARREN, M. D. 49 

I hope I shall die up to my knees in blood ! " This was spoken but a 
few weeks before the Battle of Bunker Hill. 

Gen. Warren married Elizabeth, a daughter of the late Dr. Richard 
Hooton, of Boston, Sept. 6, 17G4. Their children were Joseph, who 
graduated at Harvard College, in 1786, — died single in 1790 ; Richard, 
who died at twenty-one years of age ; Elizabeth, who was the wife of 
Gen. Arnold Welles ; and Mary, wife of Judge Newcomb, of Greenfield, 
who died Feb. 7, 1826. Their son Joseph Warren Newcomb, coun- 
sellor at Springfield, has two children, the last living descendants. The 
three younger children of Gen. Warren were for a period under the 
care of Miss ]\Iercy Scollay, of Boston, a lady to whom he was betrothed 
for a second wife. His wife died April 29, 1773, aged twenty-six years. 
This impressive tribute to the virtues of his lamented partner appeared 
in the Boston Gazette of that year : 

"If fading lilies, 1711611 they droop and die. 
Robbed of each charm that pleased the gazing eye, 
With sad regret the grieving mind inspire, 
What, then, when virtue's brightest lamps expire? 
Ethereal spirits see the systems right. 
But mortal minds demand a clearer sight. 
In spite of reason's philosophic art, 
A tear must fall to indicate the heart. 
Could reason's force disarm the tyrant foe, 
Or calm the mind that feels the fatal blow, 
No clouded thought had discomposed the mind 
Of him whom Heaven ordained her dearest friend. 
Good sense and modesty with virtue crowned 
A sober mind, when fortune smiled or frowned ; 
So keen a feeling for a friend distressed, 
She could not bear to see a worm oppressed. 
These virtues fallen enhance the scene of woe, 
Swell the big drops that scarce confinement know. 
And force them down in copious showers to flow. 
But know, thou tyrant Death, thy force is spent, — 
Thine arm is weakened, and thy bow unbent. 
Secured from insults of your guilty train 
Of marshalled slaves, inflict disease and pain, 
She rides triumphant on the aerial course. 
To land at pleasure's ineshausted source ; 
Celestial Genii line the heavenly way, 
And guard her passage to the realms of day. ' ' 

Gen. Warren, in the year 1766, addressed the following letter to 
the Rev. Edmund Dana, a graduate of Harvard College in 1759, who 
5 



50 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

became the Rector of Wroxcter, Salop, in England, where he died 
in 1823, and was a brother of Judge Francis Dana. This letter 
passed into the care of his grandson, Thomas Oatlej, Esq., of Bishton 
Hall, Salop, and has recently been brought to this country by Edmund 
Trowbridge Hastings, Esq., a relative of the Dana family. It is a 
precious relic, as presenting a view of the state of feeling in New- 
England in relation to the odious Stamp Act. 

^^ Boston, New Englajid, March 19, 1766. 

"Dear Sir : — I have not had the pleasure of a line from you since 
you left this country. I wrote to you soon after I knew of your arrival 
in England, and I have not at any time been negligent in inquiring 
concerning you, whenever an opportunity presented. I have, with 
great satisfaction, heard of that agreeable life which you lead amidst 
all the gayeties and diversions of that jovial city, London; but I 
received a peculiar pleasure from the intelligence which I have lately 
had of your happy marriage with a lady of noble birth, and every 
accomplishment, both natural and acquired. Accept the sincerest 
wishes of your long absent (but I hope not forgotten) friend, that you 
may long enjoy, with your charming consort, that unequalled happi- 
ness which must arise from an union of persons so amiable. 

" Perhaps it may not be disagreeable at this time to hear something 
of the present state of your native country. Never has there been a 
time, since the first settlement of America, in which the people had so 
much reason to be alarmed, as the present. The whole continent is 
inflamed to the highest degree. I believe this country may be 
esteemed as truly loyal in their principles as any in the universe ; but 
the strange project of levying a stamp duty, and of depriving the peo- 
ple of the privilege of trials by juries, has roused their jealousy and 
resentment. They can conceive of no liberty where they have lost 
the power of taxing themselves, and Avhere all controversies between 
the crown and the people are to be determined by the opinion of one 
dependent ; and they think that slavery is not only the greatest mis- 
fortune, but that it is also the greatest crime (if there is a possibility 
of escaping it). You are sensible that the inhabitants of this country 
have ever been zealous lovers of their civil and religious liberties. For 
the enjoyment of these, they fought battles, left a pleasant and pop- 
ulous country, and exposed themselves to all the dangers and hardships 
in this new world; and their laudable attachment to freedom has hith- 



JOSEPH WARREN, M. D. 51 

erto been transmitted to their posterity. Moreover, in all new coun- 
tries (and esiDecially in this, which was settled by private adventurers), 
there is a more equal division of property amongst the people ; in con- 
sei^uence of which, their influence o,nd authority must be nearly equal, 
and every man will think himself deeply interested in the support of 
pu])lic liberty.' Freedom and equality is the state of nature; but 
slavery is the most unnatural and violent state that can be conceived 
of, and its approach must be gradual and imperceptible. In many old 
countries, where, in a long course of years, some particular families 
have been able to acquire a very large share of property, from which 
must arise a kind of aristocracy, — that is, the power and authority 
of some persons or families is exercised in proportion to the decrease 
of the independence and property of the people in general ; — had 
America been prepared in this manner for the Stamp Act, it might 
perhaps have met with a more favorable reception ; but it is absurd to 
attempt to impose so cruel a yoke on a people who are so near to the 
state of original equality, and who look upon their hberties not merely 
as arbitrary grants, but as their unalienable, eternal rights, purchased 
by the blood and treasure of their ancestors, — which liberties, though 
granted and received as acts of favor, could not, without manifest 
injustice, have been refused, and cannot now, or at any time hereafter, 
be revoked. Certainly, if the connection was rightly understood. 
Great Britain would be convinced that, without laying arbitrary taxes 
upon her colonies, she may and does reap such advantages as ought to 
satisfy her. Indeed, it amazes the more judicious people on this side 
the water, that the late minister was so unacquainted with the state of 
America, and the manners and circumstances of the people ; or, if he 
was acquainted, it still surprises them to find a man, in his high station, 
so ignorant of natui'e, and of the operations of the human mind, as 
madly to provoke the resentment of millions of men who would esteem 
death, with all its tortures, preferable to slavery. Most certainly, in 
whatever light the Stamp Act is viewed, an uncommon want of policy is 
discoverable. If the real and only motive of the minister was to raise 
money from the colonies, that method should undoubtedly have been 
adopted which was least grievous to the people. Instead of this, the 
most unpopular that could be imagined is chosen. If there was any 
jealousy of the colonies, and the minister designed by this act more effect- 
ually to secure their dependence on Great Britain, the jealousy was first 
groundless. But if it had been founded on good reasons, could any- 
thing have been worse calculated to answer this purpose 7 Could not 



52 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

the minister have found out, either from history or from his own 
observation, that the strength of any country depended on its being 
united witliin itself? Has he not, by this act, brought about -what the 
most zealous colonist never could have expected ? The colonies, until 
now, were ever at variance, and foohshly jealous of each other. They 
are now, by the refined policy of Mr. George Grenville, united for 
their common defence against what they believe to be oppression ; nor 
will they soon forget the weight which this close union gives them. 
The impossibility of accounting in any other way for the imposition of 
the stamp duty has induced some to imagine that the minister designed 
by this act to force the colonies into a rebellion, and from thence to 
take occasion to treat them with severity, and, by mihtary power, 
reduce them to servitude. But this supposes such a monstrous degree 
of wickedness, that charity forbids us to conclude him guilty of so black 
a villany. But, admitting this to have been his aim (as it is known 
that tyrannical ministers have at some time embraced even this helhsh 
measure to accomplish their cursed designs), should he not have con- 
sidered that every power in Europe looks with envy on the colonies 
which Great Britain enjoys in America 1 Could he suppose that the 
powerful and politic France would be restrained by treaties, when so 
fair an opportunity oifered for the recovery of their ancient possessions 1 
At least, was he so ignorant of nature as not to know that when the 
rage of the people is raised by oppression to such a height as to break 
out in rebellion, any new alliance would be preferred to the miseries 
which a conquered country must necessarily expect to suffer 'I And 
would no power in Europe take advantage of such an occasion ? And, 
above all, did he not know that his royal, benevolent master, when he 
discovered his views, would detest and punish him ? But whatever 
was proposed by the Stamp Act, of this I am certain, that the regard 
which the colonies still bear to His Majesty arises more from an 
exalted idea of His Majestj^-'s integrity and goodness of heart than 
from any prudent conduct of his late minister. 

"I have written, sir, much more than I intended when I first sat 
down, but I hope you will pardon my prolixity upon so important a 
subject. 

" I am, sir, your most sincere friend and humble servant, 

"Joseph Warren. 
" To Mr. Edmund Dana. 

" P. S. I hope for the favor of a fine fi'om you, the first opportu- 
nity." 



JOSEPH WARREXj M. D. 53 

Gen. Warren published tlii-ee biglily spirited articles, in the Boston 
Gazette, originated by the exercise of the arbitrary powers of Gov. 
Bernard, in negativing councillor elected by the representatives ; and 
further, for severe censures on leading members of the house, unjustly 
expressed in letters addressed to Lord Shelburne, the king's minister 
of state, who, in reply, unequivocally sanctioned his measures, and also 
expressed displeasure that the house should object to the lieutenant- 
governor, who was not a member of the council, taking a seat in that 
body. In the first of these articles, Warren's quotation from Roches- 
ter excited the ire of Bernard, who sent a message to the house, and 
another to the council, declaring the article libellous, and calling it to 
their serious consideration. The council pronounced it an insolent and 
licentious attack, and that the author deserved punishment. The house 
expressed a different opinion, and that the liberty of the press is a 
great bulwark of the liberty of the people. There were fifty-six in 
the affirmative, to eighteen in the negative. It was introduced to the 
grand jury, who would not find a bill of indictment. As these are all 
of the political newspaper productions of Warren that we have discov- 
ered, and as they are strongly characteristic of his energy of charac- 
ter, they are here presented entire. Bradford, in his History of Mas- 
sachusetts, not appearing to be aware that Warren was the author, 
remarks of the first communication, that it was "a very scurrilous 
piece." Pemberton, Dorr, and Bees, in the Cyclopedia, ascribe them 
to him. Hutchmson alludes to it as " a most abusive piece against the 
governor." 

From Boston Gazette, Feb. 29, 17G8. 

"Messrs. Edes & Gill, 

" Please insert the following : 

" May it please your . We have for a long time known your 

enmity to this province. We have had full proof of your cruelty to a 
loyal people. No age has perhaps furnished a more glaring instance 
of obstinate perseverance in the path of malice than is now exhibited 

in your . Could you have reaped any advantage from injuring 

this people, there would have been some excuse for the manifold abuses 
with which you have loaded them. But when a diabohcal thirst for 
mischief is the alone motive of your conduct, you must not wonder if 
you are treated with open dislike ; for it is impossible, how much 
soever we endeavor it, to feel any esteem for a man hke you. Bad 
as the world may be,, there is yet in every breast something wliich 



54 THE nUXDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

points out the good man as an object worthy of respect, and marks 
the guileful, treacherous man-hater, for disgust and infamy. 

" Nothing has ever been more intolerable than your insolence on a 
late occasion, when you had, by your Jesuitical insinuations, induced 
a worthy minister of state to form a most unfavorable opinion of the 
province in general, and some of the most respectable inhabitants in 
particular. You had the effrontery to produce a letter from his lord- 
ship, as a proof of your success in calumniating us. Surely you 
must suppose we have lost all feeling, or you would not dare thus 
tauntingly to display the trophies of your slanders, and upbraidingly 
to make us sensible of the inexpressible misfortunes which you have 
brought upon us. But I refrain, lest a full representation of the hard- 
ships suffered by this too long insulted people should lead them to an 
unwarrantable revenge. We never can treat good and patriotic rulers 
with too great reverence. But it is certain that men totally aban- 
doned to wickedness can never merit our regard, be their stations ever 

so high. 

♦If such men are by God appointed, 
The devil may be the Lord's anointed.' 

''A True Patriot." 



From Boston Gazette, March 7, 1768. 

" Messrs. Edes & Gill, 

" Please to insert the following : 

" My first performance has, by a strange kind of compliment, been 
by some applied to his. excellency Gov. Bernard. It is not for me to 
account for the construction put upon it. Every man has a right to 
make his own remarks, and if he satisfies himself, he will not displease 
me. I will, however, inform the public that I have the most sacred 
regard to the characters of all good men, and would sooner cut my 
hand from my body than strike at the reputation of an honest member 
of .the community. But there are circumstances, in which not justice 
alone, but humanity itself, obliges us to hold up the villain to view, 
and expose his guilt, to prevent his destroying the innocent. Whoever 
he is whose conscience tells him he is not the monster I have por- 
traited, may rest assured I did not aim at him ; but the person who 
knows the black picture exhibited to be his own, is welcome to take it 
to himself. The imputation of disaffection to the king and the govern- 
ment, brought against me by His Majesty's Council, I shall answer 



JOSEPH WAEREN, M. D. 55 

only by a quotation from the paper which they have been pleased to 
censure, where I say, ' We can never treat good and patriotic rulers 
with too great reverence.' In which sentence I hope the honorable 
board will not say I have omitted to declare my sentiments of the duty 
which every good subject owes to his present majesty, and all worthy 
subordinate magistrates ; and I flatter myself that the sentiments of 
the board coincide with mine. If they do not, I must dissent from 
them. Their charge of profaneness, I humbly apprehend, was occa- 
sioned by their forcing a sense upon the two last lines totally different 
from what I intended they should convey. Mj design was to compare 
wicked men, and especially wicked magistrates, to those enemies to 
mankind, the devils ; and to intimate that the devils themselves might 
boast of divine authority to seduce and ruin mankind, with as much 
reason and justice as wicked rulers can pretend to derive from God, or 
from his word, a right to oppress, harass, and enslave their fellow- 
creatures. The beneficent Lord of the universe delights in viewing 
the happiness of all men. And so far as civil government is of divine 
institution, it was calculated for the greatest good of the whole com- 
munity ; and whenever it ceases to be of general advantage, it ceases 
to be of' divine appointment, and the magistrates in such a community 
have no claim to that honor which the Divine Legislator has assigned 
to magistrates of his election. I hope the honorable board will not' 
condemn a man for expressing his contempt for the odious doctrines 
of divine hereditary right in princes, and of passive obedience, which 
he thinks dishonorary to Almighty God, the common and impartial 
Father of the species, and ruinous both to kings and subjects ; and 
which, if adhered to, would dethrone his present majesty, and destroy 
the British nation. The honorable board is humbly requested to 
examine whether the above is not the most natural and obvious sense 
of the quoted lines. Certainly, when I read them, I thought it the 
only sense ; and I shall think myself very unhappy in my readers, 
should they generally put that construction upon them which the 
honorable board have been pleased to adopt. 

•'I shall, at all times, write my sentiments with freedom, and with 
decency too, — the rules of Avhich I am not altogether unacquainted 
with. While the press is open, I shall publish whatever I think con- 
ducive to general emolument ; when it is suppressed, I shall look upon 
my country as lost, and, with a steady fortitude, expect to feel the 
general shock. A True Patriot." 



56 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

From Boston Gazette, March 14, 1768. 

"Messrs. Edes & Gill, 

" Please insert the following : 

" With pleasure I hear the general voice of this people in favor of 
freedom ; and it gives me solid satisfaction to find all orders of unplaced, 
independent men, firmly determined, as far as in them lies, to support 
their own rights and the liberty of the press. The honorable House 
of Representatives have showed themselves resolute in the cause of 
justice. The Grand Jurors have convinced us that no influence is 
able to overcome their attachment to their country, and our free consti- 
tution. They deserve honor. But this is one of those cases in which, 
by doing as they have done, they really merit praise ; yet the path 
was so plain, that to have done otherwise would have rendered them 
indeed ! 

'' While this people know their true interest, they will be able to 
distinguish their friends from their enemies ; and, with uniform cour- 
age, will defend from tyrannic violence all those who generously ofier 
themselves volunteers in the cause of truth and humanity. But if 
ever a mistaken complaisance leads them to sacrifice their privileges, or 
the well-meaning assertors of them, they will deserve bondage, and 
soon will find themselves in chains. 

"Every society of men have a clear right to refute any unjust asper- 
sions upon their characters, especially when they feel the ill effects of 
such aspersions ; and, though they may not pursue the slanderer from 
motives of revenge, yet are obliged to detect him, that so he may be 
prevented from injuring them again. This province has been most 
barbarously traduced, and now groans under the weight of those mis- 
fortunes which have been thereby brought upon it. We have detected 
some of the authors ; we will zealously endeavor to deprive them of 
the power of injuring us hereafter. We Avill strip the serpents of their 
stings, and consign to disgrace all those guileful betrayers of their 
country. There is but one way for men to avoid being set up as 
objects of general hate, which is — not to deserve it. 

"A True Patriot." 

In the Diary of John Adams, it is stated that he was frequently 
solicited to attend the town-meetings, in 1768, after the British troops 
had arrived in Boston, and harangue there, which was constantly 
refused ; and Dr. Warren the most frequently urged him to this, and 



JOSEPH WARREN, M. D. 57 

his reply to him always was, " That way madness lies." The symp- 
toms of our great friend Otis, at that time, suggested to Warren a 
suflBcient comment on those words, at which he dways smiled, and 
said, "It was true." 

Gen. Warren once said of John Adams, that he thought he was 
rather a cautious man, but he could not say he was ever a trimmer. 
When he spoke at all, he always spoke his sentiments. 

Hutchinson remarks, in his history, under date of 1772, that "Mr. 
Adams had been pressed to pronounce the oration upon the Boston 
Massacre, but declined it; and Dr. Warren, whose popularity was 
increasing, undertook it. Though he gained no great applause for his 
oratorical abilities, yet the fervor, which is the most essential part of 
such compositions, could not fail of its eifect upon the minds of the 
great concourse of people present," It was delivered in the Old 
South Church. We will select a passage from this performance, with 
one remark of wonder and admiration, — that he could have the courage 
to express such opinions in the presence of a British governor, amid 
the glare of royal bayonets. Here is reasoning of greater value than 
splendid declamation : 

"I would ask whether the members of the British House of Com- 
mons are the democracy of this province? If they are, they are 
either the people of this province, or are elected by the people of this 
province to represent them, and have therefore a constitutional right 
to originate a bill for taxing them. It is most certain they are neither, 
and therefore nothing done by them can be said to be done by the 
democratic branch of our constitution. I would next ask, whether the 
lords, who compose the aristocratic branch of the legislature, are peers 
of America ? I never heard it was, even in these extraordinary times, 
so much as pretended ; and if they are not, certainly no act of theirs 
can be said to be the act of the aristocratic branch of our constitution. 
The power of the monarchic branch, we with pleasure acknowledge, 
resides in the king, who may act either in person or by his represent- 
ative ; and I freely confess that I can see no reason why a proclama- 
tion for raising money in America, issued by the king's sole authority, 
would not be equally consistent with our own constitution, and there- 
fore equally binding upon us, with the late acts of the British Parlia- 
ment for taxing us, — for it is plain, that, if there is any validity in 
those acts, it must arise altogether from the monarchical branch of the 
legislature. And I further think that it would be at least as equita- 



58 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

ble ; for I do not conceive it to be of the least importance to us by 
whom our property is taken away, so long as it is taken without our 
consent. And I am very much at a loss to know by what figure of 
rhetoric the inhabitants of this province can be called free subjects, 
when they are obliged to obey imphcitly such laws as are made for 
them by men three thousand miles off. whom they know not, and whom 
they never have empowered to act for them ; or how they can be said 
to have property, when a body of men, over Avhom they have not the 
least control, and who are not in any way accountable to them, shall 
oblige them to deliver up any part or the whole of their substance, with- 
out even asking their consent : and yet, whoever pretends that the late 
acts of the Britisk Parliament for taxing America ought to be deemed 
binding upon us, must admit at once that Ave are absolute slaves, 
and have no property of our own, — or else that we may be freemen, 
and at the same time under a necessity of obeying the arbitrary 
commands of those over whom we have no control or influence ; and 
that we may have property of our own which is entirely at the disposal 
of another. Such gross absurdities, I believe, will not be relished in 
this enlightened age ; and it can be no matter of wonder that the peo- 
ple quickly perceived and seriously complained of the inroads which 
these acts must unavoidably make upon their liberty, and of the hazard 
to which their whole property is by them exposed, — for, if they may 
be taxed without their consent, even in the smallest trifle, they may 
also, without their consent, be deprived of anything they possess, 
although never so valuable — never so dear. Certainly it never 
entered the hearts of our ancestors, that, after so many dangers in 
this then desolate wilderness, their hard-earned property should be at 
the disposal of the British Parliament ; and as it was soon found that 
this taxation could not be supported by reason and argument, it seemed 
necessary that one act of oppression should be enforced by another ; 
and, therefore, contrary to our just rights as possessing — or, at least, 
having a just title to possess — all the liberties and immunities of 
British subjects, a standing army was established among us in a time 
of peace, and evidently for the purpose of effecting that which it was 
one principal design of the founders of the constitution to prevent, 
when they declared a standing army, in a time of peace, to be against 
law, —namely, for the enforcement of obedience to acts which, upon 
fair examination, appeared to be unjust and unconstitutional.'' 

On the evening after the dehvery of this effective oration, a lantern 



JOSEPH WAKREN, M. D. 59 

of transparent paintings was exhibited on the balcony at Mrs. Clap- 
ham's, in King-street, well drawn by an ingenious young artist, repre- 
senting in front the melancholy scene which occurred near that spot, 
over which was inscribed, " The Fatal Effects of a Standing Army in a 
Free City." At the east end was a representation of a monument, 
inscribed to the memory of those who were killed, with their names, 
etc. ; at the west end was the figure of America, sitting in a mourning 
posture, and looking down on the spectators, with this label, " Behold 
my sons!" At a quarter after nine, the painting was taken in, and 
the bells tolled from that time until ten o'clock. 

On the 21st of November, 1774, Gen. Warren addressed a highly 
patriotic letter to Josiah Quincy, from which we select this remarkable 
passage : 

"It is the united voice of America to preserve their freedom, or 
lose their lives in defence of it. Their resolutions are not the effects 
of inconsiderate rashness, but the sound result of sober inquiry and 
dehberation. I am convinced that the true spirit of liberty was never 
so universally diffused through all ranks and orders of people, in any 
country on the face of the earth, as it now is through all North 
America." 

"When Warren pronounced his second oration on the Massacre, 
March 5, 1775, at the Old South Church, the Boston papers of the 
day merely stated that it was an elegant and spirited performance. 
The pulpit stairs and the pulpit itself were occupied by officers and 
soldiers of the garrison, Avho were doubtless stationed there to overawe 
the orator, and perhaps prevent him by force from proceeding. War- 
ren, to avoid interruption and confusion, entered from the rear by the 
pulpit window ; and, unmoved by the hostile military array that sur- 
rounded him and pressed upon his person, delivered the bold and 
thrilling oration, which was published, in which he said: "If pacific 
measures are ineffectual, and it appears that the only way to safety is 
through fields of blood, I know you will not turn your faces from your 
foes, but will, undauntedly, press forward, until tyranny is trodden 
under foot, and you have fixed your adored goddess Liberty fast by 
Brunswick's side, on the American throne." The editor of this work 
has seen the original manuscript, which is in the care of Dr. John C. 
Warren, his nephew, and is written on white English laid folio post, in 
a handsome round hand, with but few interhneations, and is in a black 
^per cover. We know no relic, of ancient or modern date, tenchng to 



60 THE nUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

inspire more thrilling sensations of veneration, than this fervent defence 
of freedom. The Rev. Dr. Homer, late of Newton, who was present 
at its delivery, states there was at least one silent, but not wholly 
insignificant, demonstration of feeling from the military. "While the 
oration was in progress, a captain of the Royal AVelsh Fusileers, who 
was seated on the pulpit stairs, held up one of his hands in view of 
Warren, with several pistol bullets on the open palm, and, with a vehe- 
ment and fierce exclamation, endeavored to alarm the audience with 
the cry of fire. Warren observed the action, and, without discontin- 
uing his discourse, dropped a w"hite handkerchief upon the ofiicer's 
hand ; and William Cooper, the town-clerk, with a voice of thunder, 
appeased the tumult, Avhich, being silenced, the exercises were con- 
cluded without much further disturbance. 

We will now revert to the abusive statement of the royalists, regard- 
ing this celebration, published in Rivington's New York Gazetteer, 
March 16, 1775 : "On Monday, the 5th instant, the Old South meet- 
ing-house being crowded with mobility and fame, the selectmen, with 
Adams, Church and Hancock, Cooper and others, assembled in the 
pulpit, which was covered with black ; and we all sat gaping at one 
another, above an hour, expecting ! At last, a single horse chair 
stopped at the apothecary's, opposite the meeting, from which descended 
the orator (Warren) of the day ; and, entering the shop, was followed 
by a servant with a bundle, in which were the Ciceronian toga, etc. 

" Having robed himself, he proceeded across the street to the meeting, 
and, being received into the pulpit, he was announced by one of his fra- 
ternity to be the person appointed to declaim on the occasion. He then 
put himself into a Demosthenian posture, with a white handkerchief in 
his right hand, and his left in his breeches, — began and ended without 
action. He was applauded by the mob, but groaned at by people of 
understanding. One of the pulpiteers (Adams) then got up and pro- 
posed the nomination of another to speak next year on the bloody 
massacre, — the first time that expression was made to the audience, — 
when some officers cried, fie, fie ! The gallerians, apprehending 
fire, bounded out of the windows, and swarmed down the gutters, like 
rats, into the street. The 43d regiment, returning accidentally from 
exercise, with drums beating, threw the whole body into the greatest 
consternation. There were neither pageantry, exhibitions, processions, 
or bells tolling, as usual, but the night was remarked for being the 
quietest these many months past." 



JOSEPH WARREN, M. D. 61 

We have seen an original letter of Gen. Warren, addressed to Dr. 
Benjamin Franklin, London, accompanied -witli a pamphlet, probably 
his oration delivered on the 5th of March, 1775, which he very mod- 
estly wishes was more deserving of liis notice. We will quote the 
whole letter. 

''Boston, Aprils, 1775. 

'' Sir, — Although I have not the pleasure either of a personal or 
epistolary acquaintance with you, I have taken the liberty of sending 
you, by Mr. Dana, a pamphlet which I wish was more deserving of 
your notice. The ability and firmness with which you have defended 
the rights of mankind, and the liberties of this country in particular, 
have rendered you dear to all America. May you soon see your 
enemies deprived of the power of injuring you, and your friends in a 
situation to discover the grateful sense they have of your exertions in 
the cause of freedom. 

" I am, sir, with the greatest esteem and respect, 

' ' Your most obedient, humble servant, 

" Doctor Franklin. Joseph Warren." 

On the day after the Battle of Lexington, when the British troops 
reached West Cambridge, on their return from Concord, Warren was 
at this place, in attendance on the Committee of Safety. When the 
British regulars were near, he went out, in company with Gen. Heath, 
to repel them ; and, on descending the elevated ground of Menotomy, 
in West Cambridge, toward the plain, the firing was brisk, and at this 
instant a musket-ball came so near the head of Warren as to strike the 
pin from the hair of his forelock, and took away one of the long, close, 
horizontal curls, which, according to the fashion of the times, he wore 
above the ears. 

When Gov. Gage issued an extraordinary proclamation, on June 
12, 1775, denouncing "the present unnatural rebellion," remarking, 
" In this exigency of complicated calamities, I avail myself of the last 
efibrt within the bounds of my duty to spare the effusion of blood, to 
offer, — and I do hereby offer in His Majesty's name, — offer and promise 
His Majesty's most gracious pardon to all persons who shall forthwith 
lay down their arms, and return to the duties of peaceable subjects ; 
excepting only from the benefit of such pardon Samuel Adams and 
John Hancock, whose offences are of too flagitious a nature to admit 
of any other consideration than that of condign punishment; " — the 



62 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Provincial Congress appointed a committee, on the next day, of "wliich 
Joseph Warren,— a delegate from Boston, in 1774, elected its presi- 
dent, May 31, 1775, — was the chairman, to report on the subject, who 
prepared also a dignified proclamation, adopted by Congress on the day 
before its president was killed at Bunker Hill, recounting a statement 
of the oppressions inflicted on the people, and the treachery of Gov. 
Gage ; extending " a full and free pardon to all persons who have fled to 
the town of Boston for refuge, and to all other public offenders against 
the rights and liberties of tliis country, of what kind or denomination 
soever, — excepting only from the benefit of such pardon, Thomas 
Gage, Samuel Graves; those councillors who were appointed by 
mandamus, and have not signified their resignation, namely, Jonathan 
Sewall, Charles Paxton. Benjamin Hallowell ; and all the natives of 
America, not belonging to the navy or army, who went out with the 
regular troops on the 19th of April last, and were countenancing, aid- 
ing, and assisting them in the robberies and murders then committed, 
whose offences are of too flagitious a nature to admit of any other con- 
sideration than that of condign punishment : provided that they take 
the benefit hereof by a surrender of themselves," and subscribe a 
declaration of their readiness to support and abide by the decisions of 
Congress and of the State Legislature, within thirty days from date. It 
is probable that this was the last pubhc act of Joseph Warren in the 
Provincial Congress. 

The following noble passage from a letter of Dr. Warren to Arthur 
Lee, dated May, 1775, expresses a sentiment that should be inscribed 
on the Bunker Hill INIonument, or on the base of a statue of his per- 
son, in old Faneuil Hall : 

" God forbid that the nation should be so infatuated as to do any- 
thing further to irritate the colonies ! If they should, the colonies 
will sooner tlnrow themselves into the arms of any other power on 
earth than ever consent to an accommodation with Great Britain. 
That patience, which I frequently told you would be at last exhausted, 
is no longer to be expected from us. Danger and war are become 
pleasing ; and injured virtue is now armed to avenge herself" 

"I verily believe," said Warren to Reed, in a letter of May 15, 
1775, " that the night preceding the barbarous outrages committed by 
the soldiery at Lexington, Concord, etc., there were not fifty people in 
the whole colony that ever expected any blood would be shed in the 
contest between us and Great Britain." 



JOSEPH WARREN, M. D. 63 

Tliis was one of Warren's last letters previous to the Battle of Bun- 
ker Hill. We have the evidence of Dr. John Jeffries, who was a 
surgeon in the British service, under Gen. Howe, at Boston, for stating 
that five days previous to the Battle of Bunker Hill the noble Warren 
had, with his accustomed fearlessness, ventured in a small canoe to 
Boston, that he might personally gather information of the designs of 
the British, and urged the surgeon to return and espouse the cause of 
liberty. 

Gen. Warren, on the 16th of June, had a conversation with 
Elbridge Gerry, at Cambridge, with whom he slept all night, respect- 
ing the determination of Congress to take possession of Bunker's 
Hill. He said that for himself he had been opposed to it, but 
that the majority had decided upon it, and he would hazard his life 
to effect this. Mr. Gerry expressed, in strong terms, his disapproba- 
tion of the measure, as the situation was such that it would be in vain 
to attempt to hold it; adding, " But if it must be so, it is not worth 
while for you to be present. It will be madness for you to expose 
yourself, where your destruction will be almost inevitable." " I know 
it," he answered, " but I live within the sound of their cannon. How 
could I hear their roaring in so glorious a cause, and not be there ! " 
Again 1\Ir. Gerry remonstrated, and concluded with saying, " As 
surely as you go there, you will be slain." Warren replied, enthu- 
siastically, "Dulce et decorum, est pro patria mori." — It is pleasant 
and honorable to die for one's country. — The next day his princi- 
ples were sealed with his blood. Having spent the greater part of the 
night in public business at Watertown, he arrived at Cambridge at 
about five o'clock in the morning, and being unwell, threw himself on a 
bed. About noon he was informed of the state of preparation for 
battle at Charlestown. He directly arose, saying he was well again, 
and mounting a horse, rode to the place. He arrived at Breed's Hill 
a short time before the action. Col. Prescott, the brave, as Washing- 
ton was afterwards in the habit of calling him, was then in command. 
He came up to Gen. Warren to extend it to him, and asked what were 
his orders. Gen. Warren told him he came not to command, but 
to learn ; he had not received his commission. And having, as it is 
said, borrowed a musket and cartouch-box from a sergeant, who was 
retiring, he mingled in the thickest of the fight, animating and encour- 
aging the men more by his example than it was possible to do in any 
other way. 



64 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

The revolutionary ]play, previously alluded to, relates of Warren, 
" His nervous arm, like a giant refreshed with wine, hurled destruction 
■where'er he came, breathing heroic ardor to adventurous deeds ; and 
long time in even scale the battle hung." After Col. Prescott 
ordered a retreat, says Everett, it was not without the greatest reluc- 
tance that Warren quitted the redoubt ; and he was slowly retreating 
from it, being still at a few rods distance only, when the British had full 
possession. Ilis person, of course, was in imminent danger. At this 
critical moment, Maj. Small, whose hfe had been saved in a similar 
emergency by the intervention of Gen. Putnam, attempted to requite 
the service, by rendering one of a like character to Warren. Col. 
Swett relates, that Maj. Small called to Warren, for God's sake, to 
stop and save his life. He turned, and seemed to recognize him, but 
still continued on. Small ordered his men not to fire at him, and 
threw up the muskets with his sword. But in vain, — the fatal ball 
had sped ! Eighty yards from the redoubt, Warren received a musket- 
ball through the head, which killed him instantly. Everett further 
relates, that Gen. Howe, though slightly Avounded in the foot, passed 
the night upon the field of battle. The next morning, as he was rest- 
ing, wrapped in his cloak, upon a mound of hay, word was brought to 
him that the body of Warren was found among the dead. It had been 
recognized by Gen. Winslow, then a youth. Howe refused, at first, to 
credit the intelligence. It was impossible that the president of Con- 
gress could have exposed liis life in such an action. When assured 
of the fact, he declared that his death was an ofiset for the loss of five 
hundred men. Col. Swett relates that Dr. Jeffries was on the field, 
dressing the British wounded and the wounded American prisoners, 
with his usual humanity and skill. Gen. Howe inquired of him if he 
could identify Warren. He recollected that he had lost a finger-nail, 
and wore a false tooth ; and the general was satisfied of its identity. 
The Cambridge N. E. Chronicle, of April 25, 1776, remarking on 
the identity of the remains of Gen. Warren, relates that, " though the 
body, which our savage enemies scarce privileged with earth enough to 
hide it from the birds of prey, was disfigured when taken up, yet was 
suflBciently known by two artificial teeth, which were set for him a 
short time before his glorious exit." Everett states Warren was 
buried at the place where he fell. Rev. Dr. Allen states of Wan-en : 
Just as the retreat commenced, a ball had struck him on the head, and 
" he died in the trenches " 



JOSEPH WAKREN, M. D. 65 

The Hon. Needham Maynard, of Whitestown, N. Y., a native of 
Framingham, who states that he acted as Warren's aid in the battle, 
testified, on June 20, 1843, — then aged 88 years, — that on the 
night of the 16th of June, 1775, Coh Prescott was sent off with a 
detachment of men to break ground on Bunker Ilill. It was found 
that Breed's Avas better, and s^ they laid the fort, and went back to 
work there. We were ordered out early in the morning. I was in 
Jonathan Brewer's regiment. We came there, at last, and found them 
at work. We found Col. Prescott there, and Col. Brewer. The balls 
were then flying about us very thick. At about eleven o'clock, Gen. 
Warren came on; and when Col. Brewer met him, he said, " General, if 
you have come to take the command, I am glad to see you." " No," 
said Warren, "I have come only as a volunteer. I did not come to 
take the command, but to act as a volunteer, in any station. Our 
perils are commencing, and I have come to take my part." "Well," 
they said to him, " do you mean to stay with us, general? " "Yes," 
said Warren, "I mean to stay;" and then the other officers insisted 
upon his taking the command. They said, We have no officer to lead, 
— that we ought to have some particular one for the orders to come 
from, — and they urged him to take the command ; and he replied that 
he did not think it would be proper. Then Col. Brewer said, "We 
must have a head, and he ought to be a general. We are all colonels 
here, and one colonel is as good as another." Then he found Prescott 
was there, and Warren said, " If you will continue to act as a council, I 
will give you my views as commander ; and if you approve them, they 
can go as commands." And they said that amounted to the same 
tiling as if he was commander ; and so he went on, when anything Avas 
done, giving the orders. Col. Maynard was not with Warren when he 
fell, having gone into the redoubt, and he was there detained by Pres- 
cott, who said to him, " Stop ; I may want to send you, in a minute ; " 
and then the new contest of their breaking into the redoubt began. 
Mr. Maynard gave an account of an interview between Washington 
and the officers, on Bunker Hill, subsequently, when Washington, 
alluding to Warren, said, "You lost your commander-in-chief." 
"Why," continued Mr. Maynard, "in that time, there was nobody 
so lamented; " and Col. Brewer went on to relate to Washington, how 
he lost sight of Warren as he Avas going towards the redoubt, and sup- 
posed that he Avas gone on ahead, and followed on with as much speed as 
he could, but found nothing of him. Then he thought he must have 
6* 



66 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

been shot down by a dead shot, not many steps where they started 
from. They had started together from the place they had occupied 
during the battle, just on the other side of the gap, against the hay 
breastwork, only about one rod from the gap. " Warren had a dark 
eye, was a little under six feet in height, well formed, with a pleasant 
face, and a remarkable countenance." 

Col. John Trumbull, of New York, who visited Col. John Small, at 
London, in 1786, received of him the relation herewith, which is too 
interesting to be kept out of view : At the moment when the troops 
succeeded in carrying the redoubt, and the Americans were in full 
retreat. Gen. Howe, who had been hurt by a spent bullet which 
bruised his ankle, was leaning upon my arm. He called suddenly to 
me, "Do you see that elegant young man who has just fallen? Do 
you know him? " I looked to the spot to which he pointed. " Good 
God ! " he exclaimed; "I believe it is my friend Warren. Leave me, 
then, instantly — run — keep off the troops — save him, if possible." 
I flew to the spot. " My dear friend," I said to him, " I hope you are 
not badly hurt." He looked up, seemed to recollect, smiled, and 
died. A musket-ball had passed through the upper part of his head. 

Dea. Samuel Lawrence, of Groton, the father of the Minister to the 
Court of St. James, who was a minute-man in the Battle of Bunker 
Hill, testified, in 1818, in relation to Gen, Warren, that, just before 
the battle commenced, Gen. Warren came to the redoubt. He had on 
a blue coat, white waistcoat, and I think a cocked hat, — but of this I 
am not certain. Col. Fresco tt advanced to him, said he was glad to 
see him, and hoped he would take the command. Gen, Warren 
replied, " No, — he came to see the action, but not to take command; 
that he was only a volunteer on that day." Afterwards I saw him 
when the ball struck him, and from that time until he expired. No 
British officer A\'as within forty or fifty rods of him, from the time the* 
ball struck him until I saw he was dead. This statement utterly 
refutes that of Col. Small, who says he spoke to Warren, as he looked 
at him and expired. Dr. John Warren, his brother, has related that, 
when the dead body of the general was discovered after the battle, his 
right hand was covered with blood, though there was no wound upon 
it, occurring as if he had raised his hand to the back of his head, on 
the right side, when the ball fractured his skull. What an affecting 
scene ! A small piece of granite, on which is inscribed in gilt letters, 
"Here fell Warren, June 17, 1775," laid in the ground on Bunker 



JOSEPH WARREN, M. D. 67 

Hill, designates the spot where it is supposed lie was killed. It is on 
Concord-street, nearly opposite the high-school. 

The identical bullet by which Warren was said to be killed was 
exhibited to the audience, by Alexander H. Everett, on the delivery 
of an oration at Charlestown, June 17, 1836, in which he exclaimed, 
" This is the one, fellow-citizens, which I now hold in my hand ! The 
cartridge-paper, which still partly covers it, is stained, as you see, with 
the hero's blood." This ball, enclosed in hnen cartridge-paper, is depos- 
ited in the hbrary of the New England Genealogical and Historical 
Society. If this be not the ball that entered his skull, it is highly 
probable that it was one of the balls that entered his body. We will 
present the affidavit wliich is declared by Rev. William Montague, 
pastor of Christ Church, Boston, from 1780 to '91: "I, William 
'Montague, of Dedham, County of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, 
clergyman, do certify to whom it may concern, that, in the year 1789 
or 1790, I was in London, and became acquainted with Mr. Savage, 
formerly an officer of the customs for the port of Boston, and who left 
there when the royalists and royal troops evacuated that town in 1776. 
When in London, Mr. Savage gave me a leaden ball, which is now 
in my possession, with the following account of it, namely : ' On the 
morning of the 18th of June, 1775, after the battle of Bunker or 
Breed's Hill, I, with a number of other royalists and British officers, 
among whom was Gen. Burgoyne, went over from Boston to Charles- 
town, to view the battle-field. Among the fallen, we found the body 
of Dr. Joseph Warren, with whom I had been personally acquainted. 
When he fell, he fell across a rail. This ball I took from his body ; 
and, as I never shall visit Boston again, I will give it to you to take 
to America, where it will be valuable as a rehc of your Revolution.' 
His sword and belt, with some other articles, were taken by some of 
the officers present, and I believe brought to England. 

"(Signed) William Montague." 

" Norfolk ss. 

" Dedham, March 5, 1833. The above-named William Montague 
appeared before me, and made oath to the above statement 

" (Signed) Sherman Leland, 

Justice of the Peace.'" 

The Rev. Mr. Montague received the bullet of Arthur Savage, at 
the residence of Harrison Gray, formerly Treasurer of Massachusetts 



68 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Province ; and Mr. Gray, in a letter dated London, 1792, addressed 
to Rev. Mr. Montague, alluding to the bullet supposed to have killed 
Gen. Warren, wrote: "I hope you will take good care to preserve 
that relic which was given you at my house, for in future time it will 
be a matter of interest to you rebels." This letter was found, by his 
son, Mr. William Henry Montague,' among the papers of Rev. Mr. 
Montague, who was a frequent correspondent with Mr. Gray. 

Letter from Hon. Judge J\''ewcomb. 

'■Greenfield, Mass., April 14, 1843. 
"William H. Montague, Esq., Boston. 

" My Dear Sir, — I have just seen, in the ' Boston Daily American ' 
of the 8th inst., a note under your name, addressed to Edward War- 
ren, Esq., junior editor of that paper, stating that you have deposited 
with him, till called for, the hall that put an end to the life of Gen, 
Joseph Warren. My object, in this communication, is to inquire 
whether you are willing or feel at liberty to part with that fatal piece 
of lead. My late wife, Mary, was the youngest and only surviving 
child of the late Gen. J. Warren. She died on Feb. 7, 1826, leaving 
an only child, — a son, — who bears the name of his grandfather, Joseph 
Warren. He is an attorney at law, and now lives at Springfield, in 
this State. He, with the exception of his two children, is the only 
descendant, in the direct line, of him who fell on Bunker Hill, by force 
of that ball. If consistent with your views of propriety, it would be 
grateful to his feelings, as well as my own, if some arrangement could 
be made by which the ball might be confided to his keeping, as a fam- 
ily relic. The interest I feel in the subject is my apology for 
intruding myself upon a stranger. 

" I am, with much respect, your obed't serv't, 

''Richard E. Newcomb. 

"N. B. For any inquiries you may wish to make, I would refer 
you to Dr. John C. Warren and Dr. John B. Brown, Boston. 

"R. E. K" 

A British soldier, on his return to London, exhibited a Psalm-book 
to Rev. Dr. Samuel Wilton, of that city, stating that he took the vol- 
ume from the pocket of Gen. Warren, after the battle of Bunker Hill. 
The clergyman, knowing that it would be a treasure to the Warren 
family, purchased the book of the soldier, and transmitted it to the 



JOSEPH WARREN, M. D. 69 

Rev. Dr. William Gordon, of Roxbury, the historian, with a request 
that it might be given to the nearest relative of the general. It was, 
therefore, given to his youngest brother. Dr. Jolm Warren, of Boston, 
March 15, 1778. The title of the volume, which the editor has exam- 
ined, is as follows: "The Boke of Psalmes, wherein are contained 
praires, meditations and thanksgivings to God, for his benefits toward 
his Church, translated faithfully according to the Hebrew. With brief 
and apt annotations in the margin. Printed at Geneva, by Rowland 
Hall. 1559." It is less than the 32mo. size. On the inside cover 
of this book is inscribed, — " Taken at ye Battle of Bunker Hill, June 
17, 1775, out of Dr. Warren's pocket." On the inside cover, at the 
end of the book, is written, "Thomas Knight," — probably the regu- 
lar who secured the book. Warren's signature was on a blank leaf, 
but it has been abstracted. 

On the session of Congress after the decease of Warren, it was 
resolved that a monument should be erected to his memory in Boston, 
and that the eldest son should be educated at the national expense ; 
and, in July, 1786, Congress resolved further, — that it should be 
recommended to the executive of Massachusetts Bay, to make pro- 
vision for the maintenance and education of his three younger chil- 
dren ; and that Congress would defray the expense, to the amount of 
the half-pay of a major-general, to commence at the time of his death, 
and continue till the youngest of the children should be of age. Yet, 
to this day, no monument or statue has been erected to his memory. 
If the statue of Brutus was placed among those of the gods, who were 
the preservers of Roman freedom, should not that of Warren fill a lofty 
niche in old Faneuil Hall, — that temple for the perpetuation of our 
birth-right as a nation of freemen ? Mrs. Perez Morton, who gives a 
description of this world-renowned battle, in a poem, — Beacon Hill, — 
says of Warren : 

" The prophetic poet's piercing eyes 
Will guard the sod where wounded valor lies, 
Till a victorious country's grateful claim 
Shall bear his relics to eternal fame ; — 
And genius, rising o'er the rescued bier. 
Wake every worth, and hallow every tear ; 
With all the light that eloquence can give, 
Shine round his deeds, and bid their glory live." 



70 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 



THE GODLIKE WARREN. 
From an Elegy, published July 3, 1775. 

Sure, godlike Warren, on thy natal hour 
Some star propitious shed its brightest power ; 
By nature's hand with taste and genius formed. 
Thy generous breast with every virtue warmed ; 
Thy mind endued with sense, thy form with grace, 
And all thy virtues pencilled in thy face. 
Grave wisdom marked thee as his favorite child. 
And on thy youth indulgent science smiled ; 
Well pleased, she led thee to her sacred bower, 
And to thy hands consigned her healing power. 
Illustrious shade ! forgive our mingled woes. 
Which not for thee, but for our country, flows. 
We mourn her less — we mourn our hero gone ; 
We mourn thy patriot soul, thy godlike virtue flown. 



warren's GHOST. 
From the Public Ledger, JVbvember, 1775. 

Let little tyrants, conscience gored. 

Their sable vigils keep ; 
Bute on his downy pillow snored, — 

Thus greater tyrants sleep ! 
An hour ere day began to break. 

There Warren's spectre stood ; 
The curtains shook, — it cried, " Awake ! ' 

Awake ! — thou log of wood ! 
Thy veins hath apathy congealed, 

Unthawed by pity's tear ; 
One spark a flinty heart may yield. 

Struck by the steel of fear ! 
For know, that head so proud of crest. 

Sunk on the cygnet's plume. 
May for an eminence be dressed, 

To meet a Strafibrd's doom ! 
Or, crouched in abject, careworn plight. 

Beneath its sorrows low. 
Its bread by day, its rest by night. 

To Bourbon's bounty owe. 
Speak, minion, which of Stuart's race 

Could match thy cruel work ? 
Go, read where Strafford was in place, — 

A Jeffries, and a Kirk. 



JOSEPH WARRENj M. D. 

Then, foiling history's modern page, 

Skilled in her ancient lore, 
Tell if Bejanus in his age — 

If Borgia could do more ? 
Tyrant ! dismiss your rebel clans, — 

The impious task forbear, 
Nor let that blood imbrue thine hands 

Which brought a sceptre there. 
That liberty you would invade 

Gave George his only right ; 
Thus in their sons our sires are paid, 

Whilst you for slavery fight. 
Shall not for thee, sunk deep in hell, 

Grim Satan foi-ge his tongs. 
And fiends, who guard his inmost cell, 

Twine scorpions round their throngs ? 
But, hark ! I hear the ill-omened cock, — 

The Gallic Sun shall rise ; 
Lo ! commerce founders on a rock. 

The British Lion dies I 
Bute felt the dream, — fetched many a shriek, 

And, though the ghost is gone, ^ 

Starts from his bed, — still hears it speak, — 

A cold, damp sweat comes on. 
With that, like Gloster in his tent, 

He throws him on the ground, 
And by these words, seems to repent, 

" Boston ! bind up thy wound ! 
Just Heaven, give back the blood that 's spilt 

Bostonians' lives restore ! " 
He wakes, — and to atone his guilt, 

Bids Gage go slaughter more. 



ACROSTIC ON WARREN. 
Cambridge Almanac for 1776. 
Just as Joseph took his flight 
Onward to the realms of light, 
Satan hurled his hellish darts, — 
Evil spirits play their parts. 
Percy, Burgoyne, Howe, and Gage, 
Hove about infernal rage. 
Warren stept beyond their path. 
Awed by none, nor feared their wrath 
Ran his race to joy and rest, — 
Rose 'mongst the royal blest ; 
Entered in the rolls of fame, — 
North and devil miss their aim. 



72 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 



JOHN HANCOCK. 

MARCH 5, 1774. ON THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 

Was born at Braintrce, Jan. 23, 1737, the son of Rev. John Han- 
cock, of that town, whose Avife was Mary Hawke, of Hinghara. He was 
a grandson of Rev. John Hancock, of Lexington. His father deceased 
when he was but seven years of age, on which he was removed to the 
family of his grandfather, at Lexington, who attended to his early 
education. He entered the Boston Latin School in 1745, and grad- 
uated at Harvard College in 1754. His uncle, Thomas Hancock, a 
Boston bookseller, who became one of the wealthiest merchants in 
the province, and died in August 1764, bequeathed him more than 
fifty thousand pounds sterling, besides the reversion of twenty thou- 
sand pounds* at the decease of his widow, who was a daughter of 
Daniel Henchman, in whose bookstore he had been a clerk. When 
young, John visited London, in 1760, on mercantile business, in com- 
pany with Gov. Pownal, who was recalled. He witnessed the funeral 
obsequies of George the Second, and subsequently the coronation of 
George the Third, not anticipating that he beheld the monarch who 
was destined to offer a reward for his head. Young Hancock learned 
the art of swimming, in the river Thames. Gov. Hutchinson, who 
very naturally indulged detracting views of John Hancock, who became 
a powerful opponent of his administration, remarks, in the History of 
Massachusetts Bay, that his ruling passion was a fondness for popular 
applause ; and he changed the course of his patron's business, in whose 
counting-room he had been a clerk, and built and employed in trade 
a great number of ships, — and in this way, and by building at the same 
time several houses, he found work for a great number of tradesmen, 
made himself popular, was chosen selectman, representative in 1769, 
moderator of town-meetings, etc. Li relation to the demeanor of 
Hancock, it is stated by John Adams, that Dr. Eliot Rawson thinks 
Hancock vain, — told a story : I was at school with him, and then 
upon a level with him. My father was richer than his. But I was 
not long since at his store, and said to Mr. Glover, whom I knew, 
" This, I think, is Mr. Hancock. He just asked my name, and nothing 



JOHN HANCOCK. '73 

more, — it was such a piece of vanity ! There is not the merest crea- 
ture that comes from your way, but I take notice of him, — and I 
ought. What though I am worth a little more than they 7 I am 
glad of it, and that I have it, that I may give some of it." I told the 
doctor that Mr. Hancock was far from being arrogant. 

In order to gratify persons of antiquarian taste, we transcribe the 
following advertisement of John Hancock, when in commercial business, 
which is inserted in the Boston Evening Post of Dec. 25, 1764 : 

" To be sold by John Hancock, at his Store No. 4, at the East End 
of Faneuil Hall Market, A general Assortment of English and India 
Goods, also choice Newcastle Coals, and Irish Butter, cheap for Cash. 
Said Hancock desires those persons who are still indebted to the Estate 
of the late Hon. Thomas Hancock, Esq., deceased, to be speedy in paying 
their respective balances, to prevent trouble. N. B. In the Lydia. 
Capt. Scott, from London, came the following packages : I W. No. 1 . 
a Trunk, No. 2, a small Parcel. The owner, by applying to John 
Hancock and paying freight, may have his Goods." 

This store was last occupied by Jabez Fisher & Co., and in 1824 
was demolished, on the erection of the Quincy Market. It was located 
on the present South Market-street. His warehouses for the storage of 
foreign merchandise were located on the wharf well known as Hancock's 
Wharf 

One day, John Adams and Samuel Adams, relates Waterhouse, were 
walking in the Boston Mall, and when they came opposite the stately 
mansion of John Hancock, the latter, turning to the former, said, witli 
emphasis, " I have done a very good thing for our cause, in the course 
of the past week, by enlisting the master of that house into it. He is 
well disposed, and has great riches, and we can give him consequence 
to enjoy them." And Mr. Hancock did not disappoint his expecta- 
tions ; for, in spite of his occasional capriciousness, owing partly to 
disease, he threw all the weight of his fortune and extraordinary pop- 
ularity into the scale of opposition to British encroachments. 

"The natural powers of Hancock were moderate," says Hutchin- 
son, " and had been very little improved by study or application to any 
kind of science. His ruling passion kept him from ever losing sight 
of his object, but he was fickle and inconstant in the means of pur- 
suing it ; and though for the most part he was closely attached to Mr. 
Samuel Adams, yet he was repeatedly broken off from all connection 
with him for several months together. Partly by inattention to his 
T 



74 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

private affairs, and partly from Avant of judgment, he became greatly 
involved and distressed, and the estate was lost with much greater 
rapidity than it had been acquired." He was unboundedly lavish in 
his liberality. At the time of a great fire in Boston, when many of 
his tenements were destroyed, his tenants gathered around him, and 
expressed sympathy at his loss, knowing that was a way to reach his 
heart ; on which he remarked, they were the greatest sufferers, having 
been almost ruined, while he was able to erect new buildings, — at the 
same time passing a shower of guineas around them. His generous 
spirit appeared in a multitude of forms. He presented the Bostonians 
a valuable fire-engine. He distributed deck-loads of wood to the suf- 
fering poor, in times of great peril, and gave the poor the free use of 
his extensive wood-lot in the town of Milton ; and in Adams' Diary we 
have an incident arising from his liberality, related by James Otis, who 
stated that Col. Irving having met Parson Moorhead near his meet- 
ing-house, "You have a fine steeple and bell," says he, "to your 
meeting-house, now." "Yes, by the liberality of Mr. Hancock, and 
the subscriptions of some other gentlemen, we have a very handsome 
and convenient house of it, at last." " But what has happened to the 
vane, Mr. Moorhead? It don't traverse, — it has pointed the same 
way these three weeks." "Ay, I did n't know it; I "11 see about it." 
Away goes Moorhead, storming among his pai'ish and the tradesmen 
who had built the steeple, for fastening the vane so that it could not 
move. The tradesmen were alarmed, and went to examine it ; but 
soon found that the fault was not in the vane, but the weather, the 
wind having set very constantly at east three weeks before. 

Hutchinson was a native of Boston, and a graduate of the same col- 
lege as Hancock and the two Adamses, toward each of whom liis 
detracting spirit was parallel. He was dark, intriguing, insinuating, 
haughty, and ambitious, the extreme of avarice marking each feature. 
Oxenbridge Thacher gave Hutchinson the soubriquet of "Summa 
Potestatis." Hutchinson said of Samuel Adams that "he acquired 
a talent of artfully and fallaciously insinuating into the minds of his 
readers a prejudice against the characters of all whom he attacked, 
beyond any other;" and he said of John Adams, that "his ambition 
was without bounds, and he has acknowledged to his acquaintance that 
he could not look with complaisance upon any man who was in pos- 
session of more wealth, more honors, or more knowledge, than him- 
self" These are evidently the carpings of disappointed ambition; 



JOHN HANCOCK. 75 

and it is related that wlien Hutchinson fled to England, he experienced 
the neglect and contempt of the House of Lords, and died at Bramp- 
ton, June, 1780, in melancholy despondence. 
Trumbull thus alludes to Hutchinson, who 

" AiBi'med he never wrote a line, 
Your chartered rights to undermine ; 
When his own letters then were by, 
That proved his message all a lie. 
IIow many promises he sealed 
To get the oppressive acts repealed ! 
Yet once arrived on England's shore. 
Set on the premier to pass more." 

When the two regiments of British troops debarked in Boston, Oct., 
1768, they were received as unwelcome intruders, and the selectmen 
absolutely refused to grant them quarters. One of the regiments 
encamped on Boston Common. The other, after a fruitless attempt to 
obtain possession of the Manufactory House, marched at sunset to Fan- 
euil Hall, where they waited several hours, before they had leave of 
occupation; Col. Dalrymple having pledged his honor that Faneuil 
Hall should be cleared as soon as possible, otherwise they must have 
suffered in the streets. The next day, the State-house, in King- 
street, was opened, by order of Gov. Bernard, for their reception. 
John Hancock being well known as a decided advocate of the Provin- 
cialists, and the wealthiest merchant of Boston, an attempt was made 
to stigmatize his character. A writer in the Boston Gazette, of Nov. 
7, 1768, remarked, in an article : '• I have lately heard, from good 
authority, of an attempt to sully the reputation of a gentleman of 
great merit, as well as superior fortune, in this town, — a gentleman 
who has the entire confidence of his fellow-citizens, in various public 
stations ; — who has repeatedly served them in the General Assembly, 
and the last May had the honor of being chosen a member of His 
Majesty's Council, by a great majority of the suffrages of the two 
Houses of Assembly, though it must be acknowledged he was neg- 
atived by Gov. Bernard. What could induce a scribbler to forge a 
letter, and publish it in a coffee-house, in New York, under the name 
of that gentleman, requesting Gen. Gage that he might supply the 
troops now in town or expected, — so unwelcome to the inhabitants, 
considering the errand on which all agree they are come, — unless it 
was to induce a belief in the minds of gentlemen in New York that, 



76 THE HUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

from a sordid love of gain, he had counteracted his professed senti- 
ments, and so to render him ridiculous there ? I doubt not but that 
both the general and Mr. Hancock know it to be a falsehood." The 
charge -was repelled as follows, in the very next Gazette : 

"Messrs. Edes & Gill: 

"I observe in your last paper a piece signed Veritas, the writer 
of which says he had it from good authority, that a letter under 
my hand was published in a coffee-house, at New York, requesting 
His Excellency Gen. Gage that I might supply the troops then 
expected, and which have since arrived in this town. If such a letter 
has been produced there, or anywhere else, I declare it to be a forgery ; 
for I have never made application to any for the supply of said troops, 
nor did I ever desire any person to do it for me. The person who pro- 
duced the letter could have no other design but to injure my reputa- 
tion, and abuse the gentlemen of New York. I therefore desire you 
would give this a place in your next, in which you will oblige 

" Y^our humble servant, John Hancock. 

''Boston, Nov. 12, 1768." 

In the fall of this year, a great uproar was raised in Boston on 
account of the unlading in the night of a cargo of wines from the 
sloop Liberty, from Madeira, belonging to John Hancock, without pay- 
ing the customs. Mr. Hancock was prosecuted upon a great number 
of libels, for penalties upon acts of Parliament, amounting to ninety or a 
hundred thousand pounds sterhng. " He thought fit to engage me as 
his counsel and advocate," says John Adams, "and a painful drudgery 
I had of his cause. There were few days, through the whole winter, 
when I was not summoned to attend the Court of Admiralty. It 
seemed as if the officers of the crown were determined to examine the 
whole town as Avitnesses. Almost every day a fresh witness was to be 
examined upon interrogatories. They interrogated many of his near 
relations and most intimate friends, and threatened to summon his 
amiable and venerable aunt, the relict of his uncle, Thomas Hancock, 
who had left the greatest part of his fortune to him. I was thoroughly 
weary and disgusted with the court, the officers of the crown, the 
cause, and even with the tyrannical bell that dangled me out of my 
house every morning; and this odious cause was suspended at last only 
by the Battle of Lexington, which put an end forever to all such pros- 



JOHN HANCOCK. 77 

ecutions." Hutcliinson, who enlarges on this affair, remarks, that an 
entry was made at the custom-house, upon oath, of four or five pipes 
only as the whole cargo ; and this was as much a submission to the 
authority of the act as if the whole cargo had been entered. The 
remainder was landed in the night, or evening ; and the wines, or 
freight, were sent to the owners, and no duty demanded. A furious 
riot ensued. The collector and comptroller had their windows broken, 
and a boat, belonging to the custom-house, was drawn in triumph 
through the streets of Boston, and burnt on the Common. 

Hancock constantly associated with the avowed advocates of liberty, 
and was an active member of the North End Caucus, which frequently 
gathered at Wilham Campbell's house, near the North Battery, orig- 
inated by Dr. Joseph Warren, Avho, with another person, drew up the 
regulations of the caucus. Here the committees of pubhc service 
were formed, the plan for military companies and means of defence, 
and the resolves for the destruction of the detestable tea. Dr. Thomas 
Young was its first president, when it consisted of sixty-one members. 
It was here, when the best mode of expelling the regulars from Boston 
was discussed, that Hancock exclaimed, "Burn Boston, and make 
John Hancock a beggar, if the public good requires it ! '' 

King George the Third sanctioned Lord North's bill repealing 
duties, excepting that on tea, April 12, 1770. Shortly after this 
decision, several cargoes of tea had arrived in Boston, and nothing 
would satisfy the people but its immediate return. The ladies signed 
a pledge not to drink any tea, except in sickness ; and John Hancock 
offered one of his vessels, freight free of expense, for that purpose, and 
a load of the detestable weed was conveyed to the London consignees. 
Samuel Adams was the chief counsellor in the destruction of the tea, 
Dec, 1773, and the hall of council was the back room of the Boston 
Gazette, at the corner of Queen and Brattle streets. In Thomas' Spy 
we find a poetical effusion on this subject : 

"Fai-ewell the tea-board, with its equipage 
Of cups and saucers, cream-bucket and sugar-tongs ; 
The pretty tea-chest, also, lately stored 
With hyson, congo, and best double fine. 
Full many a joyous moment have I sat by you. 
Hearing the girls tattle, the old maids talk scandal, 
And the spruce coxcomb laugh at may-be nothing. 
No more shall I dish out the once-loved liquor, 
Though now detestable, 

7* 



78 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Because I am taught, and I believe it true, 

Its use -mil fasten slavish chains upon my country ; 

And Liberty 's the goddess I would choose 

To reign triumphant in America ! ' ' 

In the year 1772 Hancock was elected to the command of the Inde- 
pendent Cadets, well known as the governor's guard ; and we find, by the 
Boston Gazette of ^lay 12, at this date, the announcement of the elec- 
tion of John Hancock as a Boston representative, as moderator of the 
town-meeting, and his appointment by Gov. Hutchinson as commander 
of the Cadets, Avhich is stated as follows : " His Excellency the Captain 
General has been pleased to commissionate John Hancock, Esq., to be 
Captain of the Company of Cadets, with the rank of Colonel :" and 
the promptness with whicli Col. Hancork entored upon the duties of his 
office is shown by the following advertisement, which appears in the 
next column of the Gazette: "Wanted, Immediately, For his 
Excellency's Company of Cadets, Two Fifers that understand Play- 
ing. Those that are Masters of Musick, and are inclined to engage 
with the Company, are desired to apply to Col. John Hancock." 

When Thomas Gage landed at Long Wharf, May 19, 1774, this 
company escorted the new governor, in an extensive civil and military 
procession, to the council-chamber, at the old State-house, in King- 
street, after which they conducted Gage, under Col. Hancock, to the 
Province-house, then the governor's residence. Gov. Gage soon 
became jealous of Hancock, for in August of this year he was noti- 
fied, by Secretary Flucker, that the governor had no further occasion 
for his services as the commander ; on which, the corps disbanded 
themselves, and deputed a committee to wait on Gage, at Danvers, 
surrendering to him the standard with his arms, which his excellency 
had presented them on his arrival from London, informing him that they 
no longer considered themselves as the governor's Independent Cadets. 
In an address to Hancock, Aug. 18, 1774, signed by fifty-two mem- 
bers, they remark, "At a period Avhen the post of honor is a private 
station, it cannot be thought strange that a gentleman of your distin- 
guished character should meet with every discouragement from men in 
power;" and Col. Hancock said, in reply, "I am ever ready to 
appear in a public station, when the honor or the interest of the com- 
munity calls me ; but shall always prefer retirement in a private sta- 
tion, to being a tool in the hand of power to oppress my countrymen." 
Ga^^e and Hancock never came together again as pohtical friends. 



JOHN HANCOCK. 79 

The orator on the Massacre, in the year 1774, was Col. John Han- 
cock. His performance was remarkably bold and effective, giving 
great offence to the executive, and more especially to the officers of the 
standing army ; indeed, it was a striking act of intrepidity. At the 
close of the exercises, a very generous collection was taken up for the 
unfortunate Christopher Monk, now about twenty-three years old, then 
present, who was wounded on the fatal evening of the Massacre, and 
was a shocking monument of that horrid catastrophe. This produc- 
tion was elegant, pathetic, and spirited. The allusion of Hancock to 
the attempt of Parliament to enforce obedience to acts which neither 
God nor man ever authorized them to make, forcibly reminds us of 
James Otis, their most effective opponent, who was as "a wedge to 
spht the lignum vitae block of parliamentary usurpation." John 
Adams, who was present on the occasion, remarks, the composition, 
the pronunciation, the action, all exceeded the expectation of every- 
body. They exceeded even mine, which were very considerable. 
Many of the sentiments came with great propriety from him. His 
invective, particularly against a preference of riches to virtue, came 
from him with a singular grace and dignity : '• Despise the glare of 
wealth. The people who pay greater respect to a wealthy villain than 
to an honest, upright man in poverty, almost deserve to be enslaved. 
They plainly show that wealth, however it may be acquired, is in their 
esteem to be preferred to virtue." The lantern exhibition occurred on 
the succeeding Monday. In one of the windows at Mrs. Clapham's. 
was a painting of Gov. Hutchinson and Judge Peter Oliver, in the 
horrors occasioned by the appearance of the ghosts of Empson and 
Dudley, advising them to think of their fate : 

" Ye traitors ! Is there not some chosen curse, — 
Some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven, 
Red with uncommon wrath, to blast the men 
Who owe their greatness to their counti-y's ruin ? " 

On turning to Hutchinson, it is related that, on the evening after 
the delivery of the oration, "a select number of persons, styled in the 
newspapers friends of constitutional liberty, assembled at a house in 
King-street, Boston. Among them were the speaker and divers mem- 
bers of the House of Representatives. Figures were exhibited, through 
the windows of the room, to the people in the street, of the governor 
and chief-justice, in derision. Such abuse of private characters it is 



80 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

generally best to treat -with contempt ; "' and the Boston Post printed 
an original song for the Fifth of March, -written in eight verses, the 
first of -which says : 

' ' TThen the foes of the land our destruction had planned, 
They sent ragged troops for our masters ; 
But, from former defeat, they must now understand 
Their wolves shall not prowl in our pastures." 

As an embodiment of the condition and spirit of the Bostonians is 
indicated in this passage, -we make no apology for its insertion here . 
•'It -was easy to foresee the consequences -which so naturally folio-wed 
upon sending troops into America, to enforce obedience to acts of the 
British Parliament Avhich neither God nor man ever empo-wered 
them to make. It -was reasonable to expect that troops -who kne-w the 
errand they -were sent upon -would treat the people -vN'hom they -R-ere to 
subjugate -with a cruelty and haughtiness -which too often buries the 
honorable character of a soldier in the disgraceful name of an unfeel- 
ing ruffian. The troops, upon their first arrival, took possession of our 
senate-house, and pointed their cannon against the judgment-hall, and 
even continued them there -whilst the Supreme Court of judicature for 
this province -was actually sitting to decide upon the lives and fortunes 
of the king's subjects. Our streets nightly resounded -with the noise 
of riot and debauchery : our peaceful citizens -were hourly exposed to 
shameful insults, and often felt the effects of their violence and out- 
rage. But this -v\-as not all. As though they thought it not enough 
to violate our civil rights, they endeavored to deprive us of our rehgious 
privileges ; to vitiate our morals, and thereby render us deserving of 
destruction. Hence the rude din of arms -v\-hich broke in upon your 
solemn devotions in your temples, on that hallowed day by Heaven, and 
set apart by God himself for his peculiar worship. Hence impious 
oaths and blasphemies so often tortured your unaccustomed ear. 
Hence all the arts -which idleness and luxury could invent -were used 
to betray our youth of one sex into extravagance and efieminacy, and 
of the other to infamy and ruin. And did they not succeed but too 
-well ? Did not a reverence for religion sensibly decay 7 Did not our 
infants almost learn to hsp out curses before they kne-w their horrid 
import 1 Did not our youth forget they -were Americans, and, regard- 
less of the admonitions of the Avise and aged, servilely copy from their 
tyrants those vices -which must finally overthro-w the empire of Great 



JOHN HANCOCK. 81 

Britain? And must I be compelled to ackno-nlcdge that even the 
noblest, fairest part of all the lower creation, did not entirely escape 
the cursed snare '? "When virtue has once erected her throne within 
the female breast, it is upon so solid a basis that nothing is able to 
expel the heavenly inhabitant. But have there not been some — few, 
indeed, I hope — whose youth and inexperience have rendered them a 
prey to wretches, whom, upon the least reflection, they w^ould have 
despised and hated, as foes to God and their country? I fear there 
have been such unhappy instances ; or why have I seen an honest 
father clothed with shame 1 — or why a virtuous mother drowned in 
tears?" 

Mr. Hancock was a delegate from Suifolk to the first Provincial 
Congress, which convened at Concord, Oct. 11, 1774, when he was 
elected its president. He was also president of the second Provincial 
Congress, until he was succeeded by Dr. Joseph Warren. 
* When Gov. Gage sent the regular troops to Concord, for the 
destruction of the stores of the provincials, another design was to 
apprehend John Hancock and Samuel Adams, his most formidable 
foes. 

In the narrative of Col. Revere, we find a statement of the escape 
of Hancock and Adams, at Lexington : "On Tuesday evening, the 18th 
of April, 1775, it was observed that a number of soldiers were march- 
ing towards Boston Common. About ten o'clock, Dr. Warren sent in 
great haste for me, and begged that I would immediately set off for 
Lexington, Avhere were Hancock and Adams, and actpaint them of 
the movement, and that it was thought they were the objects. Wlien 
I got to Dr. Warren's house, I found he had sent an express by land 
to Lexington — a Mr. WilHam Dawes. The Sunday before, by desire 
of Dr. Warren, I had been to Lexington to see Hancock and Adams, 
who were at Bev. Mr. Clark's. I returned at night, through Charles- 
town. There I agreed with a Col. Conant, and some other gentlemen, 
that if the British went out by water, we would show two lanterns in 
the North Church steeple, and if by land, one, as a signal ; for we 
were apprehensive it would be difficult to cross the Charles River, or 
get over Boston Neck. I left Dr. Warren, called upon a friend, and 
desired him to make the signals. I then went home, took my boots 
and surtout, went to the north part of the town, where I had kept a 
boat. Two friends rowed me across Charles River, a little to the 
eastward, where the Somerset man-of-war lay. It was then young 



82 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

flood ; the ship was winding, and the moon was rising. They landed 
me on the Charlestown side. When I got into town, I met Col. 
Conant and several others. They said they had seen our signals. I 
told them what was acting, and went to get me a horse. I got a horse 
of Dea. Larkin. While the horse was preparing, Richard Devens, 
Esq., who was one of the Committee of Safety, came to me, and told 
me that he came down the road from Lexington, after sundown, that 
evening ; that he met ten British officers, all well mounted and armed, 
going up the road. 

" I set off upon a very good horse. It was then about eleven o'clock, 
and very pleasant. After I had passed Charlestown Neck, and got 
nearly opposite where Mark was hung in chains, I saw two men on 
horseback, under a tree. When I got near them, I discovered they 
were British officers. One tried to get ahead of me, and the other to 
take me. I turned my horse very quick, and galloped towards Charles- 
town Neck, and then pushed for the Medford road. The one who- 
chased me, endeavoring to cut me off, got into a clayrpond, near where 
the new tavern is noAV built. I got clear of him, and went through 
Medford, over the bridge, and up to Menotomy. In Medford, I 
awaked the captain of the minute-men; and after that, I alarmed 
almost every house, till I got to Lexington. I found Hancock and 
Adams at the Bev. Mr. Clark's. I told them my errand, and inquired 
for Mr. Dawes. They said he had not been there. I related the 
story of the two officers, and supposed that he must have been stopped, 
as he ought to have been there before me. After I had been there 
about half an hour, Mr. Dawes came. We refreshed ourselves, and 
set off for Concord, to secure the stores, etc., there. We were over- 
taken by a young Dr. Prescott, whom we found to be a high son of 
liberty. I told them of the ten officers that Mr. Devens met, and that 
it was probable we might be stopped before we got to Concord ; for I 
supposed that after night they divided themselves, and that two of 
them had fixed themselves in such passages as were most likely to 
stop any intelligence going to Concord. I likewise mentioned that we 
had better alarm all the inhabitants till we got to Concord. The 
young doctor much approved of it, and said he would stop with either 
of us, for the people between that and Concord knew him, and would 
give the more credit to what we said. We had got nearly half way. 
Mr. Dawes and the doctor stopped to alarm the people of a house. I 
was about one hundi-ed rods ahead, when I saw two men in nearly the 



JOHN HANCOCK. 83 

same situation as those officers were near Charlesto^ni. I called for 
the doctor and Mr. Dawes to come up. In an instant I was sur- 
rounded by four. They had placed themselves in a straight road that 
inchned each way. They had taken down a pair of bars on the north 
side of the road, and two of them were under a tree in the pasture. 
Dr. Prescott, being foremost, came up, and we tried to get past them ; 
but they being armed with pistols and swords, they forced us into the 
pasture. The doctor jumped his horse over a low stone-wall, and got 
to Concord. I observed a wood at a small distance, and made for 
that. When I got there, out started six officers on horseback, and 
ordered me to dismount. One of them, who appeared to have the 
command, examined me, where I came from, and what my name was. 
I told him. He asked me if I was an express. I answered in the 
affirmative. He demanded what time I left Boston. I told liim ; and 
added, that their troops had catchod aground in passing the rivor, and 
that there would be five hundred Americans there in a short time, for 
I had alarmed the country all the way up. He immediately rode 
towards those who stopped us, when all five of them came down upon 
a full gallop. One of them, whom I afterwards found to be a Maj. 
Mitchell, of the 5th regiment, clapped his pistol to my head, called 
me by name, and told me he was going to ask me some questions, and 
if I did not give him true answers, he would blow my brains out. He 
then asked me similar questions to those above. He then ordered me 
to mount my horse, after searching me for arms. He then ordered 
them to advance, and to lead me in front. When we got to the road, 
they turned down towards Lexington. When we had got about one 
mile, Maj. Mitchell rode up to the officer that was leading me, and told 
him to give me to the sergeant. As soon as he took me, the major 
ordered him, if I attempted to run, or anybody insulted them, to blow 
my brains out. We rode till we got near Lexington meeting-house, 
when the militia fired a volley of guns, which appeared to alarm them 
very much. The major inquired of me how far it was to Cambridge, 
and if there were any other road. After some consultation, the major 
rode up to the sergeant, and asked if his horse was tired. He answered 
him, he was. He was a sergeant of grenadiers, and had a small horse ; 
then said he. Take that man's horse. I dismounted, and the sergeant 
mounted my horse, when they all rode towards Lexington meeting- 
house. I went across the burying-ground and some pastures, and came 
to the Rev. Mr. Clark's house, where I found Hancock and Adams. I 



84 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS, 

told them of my treatment, and tliey concluded to go from that house 
towards Woburn. I went with them and a Mr. Lowell, who was a 
clerk to Mr. Hancock. When we got to the house where thej intended 
to stop, Mr. Lowell and myself returned to Mr. Clark's, to find what 
was going on. When we reached there, an elderly man came in. He 
said he had just come from the tavern, — that a man had come from 
Boston, who said there Avere no British troops coming. Mr. Lowell 
and myself went towards the tavern, when we met a man, on a full 
gallop, who told us the troops were coming up the rocks. We after- 
wards met another, who said they were close by. Mr. Lowell asked 
me to go to the tavern with him, to get a trunk of papers belonging to 
Mr. Hancock. We went up chamber, and Avhile we were getting the 
trunk, we saw the British very near, upon a full march. We hurried 
towards Mr. Clark's house. In our way, we passed through the 
militia. There were about fifty. When we had got about one hun- 
dred yards from the meeting-house, the British troops appeared on 
both sides of the meeting-house. In their front was an officer on 
horseback. They made a short halt, when I saw and heard a gun fired, 
which appeared to be a pistol. Then I could distinguish two guns, 
and then a continued roar of musketry, when we made ofi" with the 
trunk." 

In Frothingham's Siege of Boston we find it stated that Hancock 
and Adams, whose safety Avas regarded as of the utmost importance, 
were persuaded to retire to the then second precinct of Woburn, to the 
house occupied by Madam Jones, Avidow of Rev. Thomas Jones, and 
Rev. Mr. Marett, Avhich is now standing in Burlington, and occupied 
by Rev. Samuel Sew ell, a descendant of the A'enerable chief-justice. 
Dorothy Quincy accompanied her intended husband — Hancock. 
Here, at noon, they had just sat down to an elegant dinner, when 
a man broke suddenly in upon them with a shriek, and they believed 
the regulars Avere upon them. Mr. Marett then piloted Adams and 
Hancock along a cartway to Mr. Amos W^^man's house, in a corner 
of Billerica, Avhere they Avcre glad to dine off of cold salt pork and 
potatoes, serA^ed in a Avooden tray. Thus the proud anticipations of 
the British troops, in regard to their capture, were blasted. As John 
Hancock Avas accustomed to wear a scarlet coat of red velvet, Avith 
rufiles on his sleeves, after the fashion of the judges of the court. Gov. 
Gage is made to say, in the old revolutionary play, at the period of 
the Battle of Lexington, " If Col. Smith succeeds in his embassy, — 



JOHN HANCOCK. 85 

and I think there is no doubt of it, — I shall have the pleasure this 
evening, I expect, of having my friends Hancock and Adams' good 
company. I '11 make each of them a present of a pair of handsome 
iron ruffles, and Maj. Provost shall provide a suitable entertainment." 
In another passage of the same play, it is said, " Let us have one good 
dinner before we part, and leave us half a dozen pipes of Hancock's 
wine to drink your health; and don't let us part with dry hps." On 
the 12th of June succ*&eding, Gov. Gage issued a proclamation offering 
pardon to all the rebels, excepting Samuel Adams and John Hancock, 
"whose offences are of too flagitious a nature to admit of any other 
consideration than that of condign punishment;" — 

" As for their king, John Hancock, 
And Adams, if they 're taken. 
Their heads for signs shall hang up high 
Upon that hill called Beacon ;" — 

and the Provincial Congress, as noticed more especially in the memoir 
of Gen. Warren, issued a proclamation of hke nature, excepting Thomas 
Gage, Admiral Graves, and others. 

There is no doubt that Gov. Gage was alarmed at his position, some 
months previous to this date, as, in his despatches to the throne, to the 
18th of March, acknowledging the king's orders to apprehend Messrs. 
Gushing, Adams, and Hancock, and send them over to London for 
trial (the second order, which was to hang them in Boston, he had 
not received), he expressed his fears on the occasion; and, hoping a 
reverse of the order, he stated that he should delay the execution a 
while longer, because, if the order were fulfilled, he must come to an 
engagement, the event of which he had every reason to apprehend 
would be fatal to the king's troops and to himself, as the Massachusetts 
provincials had at least fifteen thousand men ready for the onset, and 
every public and private road occupied for defence. He earnestly 
requested a reinforcement of regulars , if that disagreeable order must 
be enforced. 

About this period, a party of British soldiers entered the residence 
of John Hancock, according to the Gazette, who began to pillage and 
break down the fences ; but on complaint being made by the selectmen 
to Gov. Gage, he ordered the fences to be repaired, and appointed Earl 
Percy to take possession of the premises. We find additional partic- 
ulars, in relation to this affixir, in the letter of a gentleman to a friend 
8 



86 THE HUNDRED BOSTON OEATORS. 

in New York, dated March 22, 1775 : " In the evening of the 17th 
instant, Col. Hancock's elegant seat, situate near the Common, was 
attacked hy a number of officers, who, with their swords, cut and 
hacked the fence before his house in a most scandalous manner, and 
behaved very abusively, by breaking people's windows, and insulting 
almost every person they met. On the 19th instant, Col. Hancock 
was again insulted by a number of inferior officers and privates, who 
entered his enclosures, and refused to retire, after his requesting them 
so to do, telling him that his house and stables would soon be theirs, 
and then they would do as they pleased. However, on his application 
to the general, he immediately sent one of his aids-de-camp to the 
officer of the guard, at the bottom of the Common, to seize any officer 
or private who should molest Col. Hancock, or any inhabitant, in their 
lawful caUing." 

The editor of the New York Knickerbocker, who once enjoyed the 
hospitality of the present Hancock family, remarks : ' ' From this house 
was driven the fair and noble-looking lady whose portrait hangs in the 
drawing-room below, that the Percy, who 

' Fought for King George at Lexington, 
A major of dragoons,' 

might here establish his quarters. As I sat there, in what was for- 
merly the state-chamber, conjuring up thoughts of that past time, I 
could almost fancy that I heard the measured tread of the red-coated 
sentinel in the grand old entrance-hall below, and saw the glancing 
bayonets in the remains of the British intrenchments on the Common, 
nearly opposite the house. 

' I wandered through the lofty halls 

Trod by the Percys of old fame, 
And traced ujjon the chapel walls 

Each high heroic name, — 
From him who once his standard set 
Where now, o'er mosque and minaret. 

Glitter the Sultan's crescent moons. 
To him who, when a younger son. 
Fought for King George at Lexington, 

A major of dragoons ! ' " 

Islr. Hancock married, at Fairfield, Conn., Dorothy, daughter of 
Edmund Quincy, of Boston, Aug. 28, 1775. He had a daughter, who 
died in infancy, at Philadelphia, 1776 ; and one son, John George 



JOHN HANCOCK. 87 

Washington, Avho received a contusion in the head, -when skating at 
Milton, of which he died, Jan. 27, 1787, aged nine years. He left 
no descendant. The quaint conceit of Lord Bacon may be applied to 
Hancock : " Surely, man shall see the noblest works and foundations 
have proceeded from childless men, who have sought to express the 
images of their minds where those of their bodies have failed ; so the 
care of posterity is most in them that have no posterity." 

In Quincy's History of Harvard University appears a statement 
of the difficulties of the college with John Hancock, who was the 
treasurer from 1773 to 1777, which exhibits a dark shade in his his- 
tory; — not that he was wilfully dishonorable, but he could not be 
aroused to an adjustment of financial duties towards the institution ; 
and Rev. Dr. Gray, of Roxbury, relates, that Dr. Samuel Cooper and 
Dr. William Gordon agreed that, at an overseers' meeting, the former 
sjiould introduce a motion for the immediate settlement of the treas- 
urer's accounts, and which was seconded by the latter. But Dr. Gor- 
don spoke so plainly his mind of the singular neglect of the treasurer, 
though so often urged to do it, that the manner was thought by Dr. 
Cooper, who was perfectly mild and polite in everything, to be as gross ; 
and therefore he forbore to utter a syllable upon the subject, and it 
passed off at the meeting in perfect silence. This circumstance so 
greatly offended Gov. Hancock, that he removed immediately from 
Jamaica Plain to his residence in Boston, and ceased all future inter- 
course with Dr. Gordon. 

No name stands emblazoned on the records of the corporation, 
remarks Quincy, as a benefactor, with more laudatory epithets, than 
that of John Hancock. But his title to this distinction must depend 
upon the view which is taken of his first subscription of £500. In 
July, 1767, when no motives of policy influenced the corporation, this 
donation is stated to be "the proposed gift of Thomas Hancock;" his 
"signified intention to subscribe, towards the restoration of the library, 
the sum of five hundred pounds sterling, the completion of which was 
prevented by his sudden death; " the act of John Hancock is recorded 
as a demonstration of his generous affection to the college, and as hav- 
ing done honor to the memory of his uncle, by voluntarily fulfilling 
his noble intention. " In the donation-book of the college, collected by 
order of the corporation in 1773," the year in which Mr. Hancock, as 
treasurer, took his seat in that board, and when he was at the height 
of his popularity, this gift is recorded on one page as exclusively " the 



88 THE HUNDRED BOSTON OKATOES. 

gift of Jolin Hancock;" and on the next but one, as "his gen- 
erous fulfilment of the intentions of his late uncle, the Honorable 
Thomas Hancock." It was generally regarded, and probably by Mr. 
Hancock, as an indispensable obligation; and it vfonld have been 
almost impossible for a young man ambitious of popularity and power, 
on receiving an estate, estimated at <£70,000 sterling, from the bounty 
of a relative, to refuse to fulfil " his signified intention " to subscribe 
£500 in favor of an institution which every man of influence in the 
province was laboring to raise from its ruins. 

If the subscription be placed to the account of its avowed origin, 
the good will of Thomas Hancock, the college was indebted to the 
bounty of John Hancock, as stated in the records of the college, "for 
a curious dipping needle," and, after that event, for the sum of .£54 
4s. sterling, being the excess of the cost of the books ordered by the 
corporation beyond the X500 derived from the good will of his uncle ; 
for "a full-length picture of that benefactor," and also for a set of 
the most elegant carpets to cover the floor of the library, the apparatus 
and philosophy chambers, and covering the walls of the latter with a 
rich paper ; "for an Account of London and its Environs, in six vol- 
umes," and "a curious Coralhne in its natural bed." The entire 
value of these donations certainly did not greatly exceed — and was 
probably less than — the actual loss sustained, according to the state- 
ment of treasurer Storer, his successor, "by Mr. Hancock's long denial 
of the rights of the college, and withholding its property." He says 
that "justice to a pubhc institution, which he essentially embarrassed 
during a period of nearly twenty years," etc., requires a statement of 
the facts. 

A very obvious apology for the delinquency of John Hancock is to 
be ascribed to the great financial distress of the Old Bay State, inci- 
dent upon the war of the Revolution, rendering it almost impossible to 
command funds for the liquidation of large demands, until long after 
the peace of 1783. Did not treasurer Hancock secure an estate on 
Merchant' s-row, by mortgage, to Harvard College, Dec. 29, 1785? — 
and, in two years after his decease, did not his nephew, John Hancock, 
Esq., make a payment of nine years' interest due the college? — and, 
Dec. 13, 1802, did not he discharge the payment of the principal due, 
and the interest in full to that date, as appears by the records in the ofiice 
of the Suffolk Register of Deeds 1 But treasurer Storer complains that 
the heirs refused to pay compound interest, whereby the college was a 



JOHN HANCOCK. 89 

loser of five hundred and twenty-six dollars. This was a very natural 
decision of the heirs ; but we will not censure the memory of Gov. 
Hancock for this act of the heirs, which was their legal right. " Per- 
haps there is not a person in America," remarked the Rev. Peter 
Thacher, his pastor, in the sermon at his funeral, "who has done more 
generous and noble actions than Gov. Hancock, and who has, upon all 
occasions, contributed more liberally to public institutions. Besides 
the grand and hospitable manner in which he entertained foreigners 
and others in his house, he expended large sums for every patriotic 
purpose, and for the benefit of our university, and equalled the gen- 
erosity of his worthy patron to it by his own donations. I should be 
guilty of base ingratitude," continues Dr. Thacher, "did I not thus 
publicly acknowledge numberless instances of kindness, attention, and 
liberality, which I have received at his hands. These now lie heavy 
at my heart, and increase my sorrow for his loss, though they have not 
bribed me to exceed the truth in delineating his character." America 
never had a more devoted patriot than John Hancock ; and the secret 
motive of his soul was disclosed in the declaration he made on taking 
the oath of office in the old State-house, in King-street, Oct. 26, 1780, 
when he became the first governor under the new constitution, which 
is another apology for delay, where he remarked, "Having, in the 
early stage of this contest, determined to devote my whole time and 
services, to the utter exclusion of all private business, even to the end 
of the war, and being ever ready to obey the call of my country, I 
venture to ofier myself, and shall endeavor strictly to adhere to the 
laws of the constitution." 

Before we continue the history of John Hancock, we will revert a 
while to an incident that occurred in Boston when it was a besieged 
town, as his name is associated with it. At the close of 1774, and in 
the early part of 1775, Gov. Gage began to take possession of all the 
arms and military stores belongmg to individuals and the public. These 
measures, which accelerated hostilities, occasioned a transaction which 
illustrates the popular feeling. The General Court, in Nov., 1766, 
ordered four brass cannon to be purchased for the use of the artillery 
companies in Boston. Two of these guns, which were three-pounders, 
were kept in a gun-house that stood opposite the Mall, at the corner 
of "West-street. A school-house was the next building, and a yard, 
enclosed with a high fence, was common to both. Maj. Adino Pad- 
dock, who then commanded the artillery, having been heard to express 
8* 



90 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

his intention of surrendering these guns to the governor, a few indi- 
viduals resolved to secure for the country a property which belonged 
to it, and which at this time was of great value. Maj. Paddock was a 
coach-maker, and a devoted loyalist. The row of elm-trees in front 
of the Granary Cemetery was planted by him, and long known as 
Paddock's Walk. He left Boston with the royal troops, in March, 
1776. 

Having concerted their plan, the party passed through the school- 
house into the gun-house, and were able to open the doors which were 
upon the yard by a small crevice, through which they raised the bar 
that secured them. The moment for the execution of the project was 
that of the roll-call, when the sentinel, who was stationed at one door 
of the building, would be less likely to hear their operations. The 
guns were taken off their carriages, carried into the school-room, and 
placed in a large box under the master's desk, in which wood was 
kept. Directly after the roll-call, a lieutenant and sergeant came into 
the gun-house, to look at the cannon, previously to removing them. A 
young man — Samuel Gore, captain of the governor's troop of horse, 
of whom this narration was received, and who had assisted in their 
removal — remained by the building, and followed the officer, as an 
innocent spectator. The persons who aided in the plot were Nathaniel 
Balch, Jeremiah Gridley, Whiston, and others, together with master 
Abraham Holbrook, the schoolmaster. When the carriages were 
found without the guns, the sergeant exclaimed, with an oath, " They 
are gone ! These felloAvs will steal the teeth out of your head, while 
you are keeping guard." They then began to search the building for 
them, and afterwards the yard ; and when they came to the gate, and 
opened into the street, the officer observed that they could not have 
passed that way, because a cobweb across the opening was not broken. 
They went next into the school-house, which they examined all over, 
except the box, on which the master placed his foot, which was lame, 
and the officer, with true courtesy, on that account excused him from 
rising. Some boys were present, but not one lisped a word. The 
officers went back to the gun-room, when their volunteer attendant, 
in kind sympathy for their embarrassment, suggested to them that 
perhaps they had been carried into Mr. Greenleaf's garden, opposite, 
— afterwards the "Washington Garden." On this, the sergeant took 
him by the collar, gave him a push, and said, it was very likely that 
he was one of the daring rebels who helped to get them off, and that 



JOHN HANCOCK. 91 

he had better make himself scarce. This was too near a guess to 
make it worth while to wait for a second hint, and he left them. They 
soon after retired, in vexation. 

The guns remained in that box for a fortnight, and many of the boys 
were acquainted with the fact, but not one of them betrayed the secret. 
At the end of that time, the persons who had withdrawn them came, 
in the evening, with a large trunk on a wheelbarrow. The guns were 
put into it, and carried up to Whiston's blacksmith's shop, at the south 
end, and there deposited under the coal. After lying there for a 
while, they were put into a boat in the night, and safely transported 
within the American lines. The guns were in actual service through 
the whole war. After the peace, the State of ISIassachusetts applied 
to Congress for their restoration, which was granted, according to this 
resolve, dated May 19, 1788 : "Congress assembled. Present — New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Vir- 
ginia, and South Carolina ; and from Rhode Island, Mr. Arnold : 
from New York, Mr. Hamilton ; from North Carolina, Mr. William- 
son ; and from Georgia, Mr. Baldwin. The Secretary at War having 
represented to Congress that there are in the arsenals of the United 
States two brass cannon, which constituted one moiety of the field 
artillery with which the last war was commenced on the part of Amer- 
ica, and which were constantly on service throughout the war ; that 
the said cannon are the property of the Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts, and that the governor thereof hath requested that they be 
returned; Therefore, Resolved, that the Secretary at War cause a 
suitable inscription to be placed on the said cannon ; and that he 
deliver the same to the order of his Excellency the Governor of the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts." 

Gen. Knox, then Secretary at War, who had commanded the artillery 
of the American army during the Revolution, — one of the most gallant, 
generous, high-minded men that the army contained, — well knew the 
history of these cannon, as they were the fellow-townsmen of his native 
to^vn of Boston. In pursuance of the orders of Congress, he caused 
the arms of Massachusetts, and the inscription herewith, to be chiselled 
upon them in bold rehef These two cannon were in charge af the 
"Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company" of Boston, and called 
the Hancock and Adams, in honor of the two patriots proscribed by 
Gov. Gage, from whose grasp they were rescued ; and John Hancock 
was governor of Massachusetts when the cannon were returned to the 



92 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

State. They are deposited on the wall inside of the top of the Bun- 
ker Hill Monument, where they hang perpendicularly suspended. 

The Hancock : 

Sacred to Liberty. 

This is one of four cannon, 

Tvliich constituted the whole train 

of Field Artillery 
possessed by the British Colonies of 

North America, 

at the commencement of the war, 

on the 19th of April, 1775. 

This cannon 

and its fellow, 

belonging to a number of citizens of 



were used in many engagements 

during the war. 

The other two, the property of the 

Government of Massachusetts, 

were taken by the enemy. 

By order of the United States 

in Congress assembled, 

May 19, 1788. 

The other cannon referred to were concealed in the stable of the second 
house west from the court-house, on the south side of Queen-street. 
Mr. Williams, a respectable farmer of Roxbury, drove in his own team 
with a load of hay, which was taken into that stable ; the cannon 
were then put in the bottom of the cart, which was loaded with manure, 
and in this way they were taken out of town without opposition. The 
British officers heard, on the same day, that the cannon were concealed 
in that street, and were to be removed in the evening ; and, in conse- 
quence, many of them patrolled the street for several hours, but the 
guns were already safe within the American lines. 

Hancock was a delegate to the Continental Congress convened at 
Philadelphia, May 10, 1775. During his tour to that city, he remained 
at Worcester two days, waiting for a suitable escort, and for the approach 
of his colleagues, when he addressed the following letter to the gentle- 
men Committee of Safety, among whom were Joseph Warren and Ben- 
jamin Church, besides himself: 

^^ Worcester, April 24, 1775, Monday evening. 
"Gentlemen: Mr. S. Adams and myself, just arrived here, find 
no intelligence from you, and no guard. We just hear an express has 



JOHN HANCOCK. 93 

just passed through this place to you, from New York, informing that 
administration is bent upon pushing matters ; and that four regiments 
are expected there. How are we to proceed 1 Where are our brethren ? 
Surely, we ought to be supported. I had rather be with you ; and, at 
present, am fully determined to be with you, before I proceed. I beg, 
by the return of this express, to hear from you ; and pray, furnish us 
with depositions of the conduct of the troops, the certainty of their 
firing first, and every circumstance relative to the conduct of the 
troops from the 19th instant to this time, that we may be able to give 
some account of matters as we proceed, especially at Philadelphia. 
Also, I beg you would order your secretary to make out an account 
of your proceedings since what has taken place : what your plan is ; 
what prisoners we have, and what they have of ours ; who of note was 
killed, on both sides ; who commands our forces, &c. 

"Are our men in good spirits ? For God's sake, do not sufier the 
spirit to subside, until they have perfected the reduction of our ene- 
mies. Boston must be entered ; the troops must be sent away, or 

* * * Our friends are valuable, but our country must be saved. 
I have an interest in that town. What can be the enjoyment of that 
to me, if I am obliged to hold it at the will of Gen. Gage, or any one 
else ? I doubt not your vigilance, your fortitude, and resolution. Do 
let us know how you proceed. We must have the Castle. The ships 
must be * * Stop up the harbor against large vessels coming. 
You know better what to do than I can point out. Where is Mr. 
Gushing ? Are Mr. Paine and Mr. John Adams to be with us 7 
What are we to depend upon 7 We travel rather as deserters, which I 
will not submit to. I will return and join you, if I cannot detain this 
man, as I want much to hear from you. How goes on the Congress 7 
Who is your president 7 Are the members hearty 7 Pray remember 
Mr. S. Adams and myself to all firiends. God be with you. 
" I am, gentlemen, your faithful and hearty countryman, 

"John Hancock." 

On May 13th of this date, he was chosen successor to Peyton Ran- 
dolph, as president of that assembly. When the unanimous election 
was declared, he felt deeply embarrassed ; and it was not until Ben- 
jamin Harrison, a strong-nerved man and noble-hearted, a member 
from Virginia, had borne him in his vigorous arms, amid the general 
acclamation, to the chair, that his wonted self-possession returned. 



94 THE nUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

"VVlien the Declaration of Independence first appeared on the floor of ' 
Congress, it was circulated over the name of John Hancock, singly and 
alone, as President of the Congress ; and the bold and striking char- 
acters which form his signature were the first to proclaim the fact. 
He resigned this station in October, 1777, owing to the severity of the 
gout. 

The nomination of Washington to be the commander-in-chief was 
first made by John Adams. The president, John Hancock, was then 
in the chair, and Washington himself was present. Hancock was 
ambitious for that appointment. The effect of Mr. Adams' motion 
upon the two patriots is thus related by himself. Washington was at 
a subsequent period, May 26, 1775, unanimously chosen. At the 
conclusion of a speech on the state of the colonies, after making a 
motion that Congress would adopt the army before Boston and appoint 
Col. Washington commander of it, Mr. Adams remarked, that he was 
"a gentleman whose skill as an officer, whose independent fortune, 
great talents, and excellent universal character, would command the 
approbation of all America, and unite the cordial exertion of all the 
colonies better than any other person in the Union. Mr. Washington, 
who happened to be near the door, as soon as he heard me allude to him, 
from his usual modesty, darted into the library-room. Mr. Hancock, 
who was our president, which gave me an opportunity to observe his 
countenance, while I was speaking on the state of the colonies, the army 
at Cambridge, and the enemy, heard me with visible pleasure ; but 
when I came to describe Washington for the commander, I never 
remarked a more sudden and striking change of countenance. Morti- 
fication and resentment were expressed as forcibly as his face could 
exhibit them. Mr. Samuel Adams seconded the motion, and that did 
not soften the president's physiognomy at all." 

The announcement herewith is copied from a Hartford journal, under 
date Nov. 19, 1777: "On Friday last, passed through this town, 
escorted by a party of light dragoons, the Hon. John Hancock, Pres- 
ident of the American Congress, with his lady, on his way to "Boston, 
after an absence, on public business, of more than two and a half 
years." 

President Hancock addressed a letter to Gen. Washington, July 10, 
1775, in which he proposed as follows : " I must beg the favor that 
you will reserve some berth for me, in such department as you may 
judge most proper ; for I am determined to act under you, if it be to 



JOHN HANCOCK. 95 

tate the firelock and join the ranks as a volunteer." It does not 
appear, however, that he joined the army, under Washington, in any 
military capacity. Washington addressed the following reply to Han- 
cock, dated 

''Cambridge, July 21, 1775. 
''Dear Sir: I am particularly pleased to acknowledge that part 
of your favor of the 10th instant wherein you do me the honor of 
determining to join the army under my command. I need certainly 
make no professions of the pleasure I shall have in seeing you. At the 
same time, I have to regret that so little is in my power to offer equal 
to Col. Hancock's merits, and worthy of his acceptance. I shall be 
happy, in every opportunity, to show the regard and esteem Avith which 
" I am, sir, your most obedient and very humble servant, 

" George Washington." 

The official correspondence of John Hancock, as President of Con- 
gress, is rich in patriotic fervor. In a letter to Washington, dated 
Dec. 22, 1775, he writes : " For your future proceedings, I must beg 
leave to refer you to the enclosed resolutions. I would just inform 
you that the last resolve, relative to an attack upon Boston, passed 
after a most serious debate in a committee of the whole house. You 
are now left to the dictates of prudence and your own judgment. 
May God crown your attempt with success. I most heartily wish it, 
though, individually, I may be the greatest sufferer." In an address 
to the inhabitants of Canada, Hancock says : " Let it be the pride of 
those whose souls are warmed and illuminated by the sacred flames of 
freedom, to be discouraged by no check, and to surmount every obsta- 
cle that may be interposed between them and the darling object of their 
wishes. We anticipate, in our pleased imaginations, the happy period 
■when the standard of tyra-nny shall find no place in North America." 
In addressing Gen. Philip Schuyler, after the surrender of Montreal, 
Hancock writes : " You have hitherto risen superior to a thousand dif- 
ficulties, in giving freedom to a great and an oppressed people. You 
have already reaped many laurels, but a plentiful harvest still invites 
you. Proceed, therefore, and let the footsteps of victory open a way 
for the blessings of hberty and the happiness of a well-ordered govern- 
ment to visit that extensive dominion. Consider that the road to glory 
is seldom strewed with flowers ; and that, when the black and bloody 
standard of tyranny is erected in a land possessed by freemen, patriots 



yb THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

cease to remain inactive spectators of their country's fall." In an 
address to Gen. Montgomery, in relation to the surrender of Montreal, 
Hancock -writes : " The Congress, utterly abhorrent from every species 
of cruelty to prisoners, and determined to adhere to this benevolent 
maxim till the conduct of their enemies renders a deviation from it 
indispensably necessary, will ever applaud their officers for beautifully 
blending the Christian with the conqueror, and never, in endeavoring 
to acquire the character of the hero, to lose that of the man." 

Hancock thus writes to Gen. Washington, under date of Philadel- 
phia, March 25, 1776 : " Sir, — I had the honor of receiving yester- 
day yours of the 19th, containing the agreeable information of the 
ministerial troops having abandoned Boston. The partial victory we 
have obtained over them in that quarter, I hope, will turn out a happy 
presage of a more general one. Whatever place may be the object of 
their destination, it must certainly give a sincere pleasure to every friend 
of the country to see the most diligent preparations everywhere making 
to receive them. What may be their views, it is, indeed, impossible to 
tell with any degree of exactness. We have all the reason, however, 
from that rage of disappointment and revenge, to expect the worst. 
Nor have I any doubt that, as far as their power extends, they will 
inflict every species of calamity upon us. The same Providence that 
has baffled their attempt against the Province of Massachusetts Bay 
will, I trust, defeat the deep-laid scheme they are now meditating 
against some other part of our country. 

" The intelligence that our army had got possession of Boston, you 
will readily suppose, gave me heartfelt pleasure. I beg, sir, you will 
be pleased to accept my warmest thanks for the attention you have 
showed to my property in that town. I have only to request that 
Capt. Cazneau will continue to look after and take care that it be 
noways destroyed or damaged. This success of our arms naturally 
calls upon me to congratulate you, sir, to whose wisdom and conduct it 
has been owing. Permit me to add, that if a constant discharge of 
the most important duties, and the fame attending thereon, can afford 
genuine satisfaction, the pleasure you feel must be the most rational 
and exalted." 

Hancock says, on the 30th April, 1776 : " The unprepared state 
of the colonies, on the commencement of the war, and the almost 
total want of everything necessary to carry it on, are the true sources 
from whence all our difficulties have proceeded. This fact, however, 



JOHN HANCOCK. 97 

furnishes a proof most striking of the weakness or wickedness of those 
who charge them with an original intention of withdrawing from the 
government of Great Britain, and erecting an independent empire. 
Had such a scheme been formed, the most warlike preparations would 
have been necessary to effect it." 

Hancock, in a letter to Gen. Washington, dated Philadelphia, May 
21, 1776, where he renews an invitation to receive a visit from him, 
stating, "I reside in an airy, open part of the city, in Arch-street 
and Fourth-street," says: "Your favor of the 20th inst. I received 
this morning, and cannot help expressing the very great pleasure it 
would afford both Mrs. Hancock and myself to have the happiness of 
accommodating you during your stay in this city. As the house I 
live in is large and roomy, it will be entirely in your power to live in 
that manner you should wish. Mrs. Washington may be as retired 
as she pleases, while under inoculation, and Mrs. Hancock will esteem 
it an honor to have Mrs. Washington inoculated in her house; and, as 
I am informed INIr. Randolph has not any lady about his house to take 
the necessary care of Mrs. Washington, I flatter myself she will be as 
well attended in my family. In short, sir, I must take the freedom to 
repeat my wish, that you would be pleased to condescend to dwell under 
my roof I assure you, sir, I will do all in my power to render your 
stay agreeable, and my house shall be entirely at your disposal. I 
must, however, submit this to your determination, and only add that 
you will peculiarly gratify Mrs. H. and myself, in affording me an 
opportunity of convincing you of this truth, that I am, with every 
sentiment of regard for you and your connections, and with much 
esteem, dear su', your faithful and most obedient humble servant." 

In a letter to the convention of New Hampshire, dated June 4, 
1776, Hancock writes: "The mihtia of the United Colonies area 
body of troops that may be depended upon. To their virtue their del- 
egates in Congress now make the most solemn appeal. They are called 
upon to say whether they will live slaves, or die freemen. They are 
requested to step forth in defence of their wives, their children, their 
liberty, and everything they hold dear. The cause is certainly a most 
glorious one, and I trust that every man of New Hampshire is deter- 
mined to see it gloriously ended, or to perish in the ruins of it. In 
short, on your exertions, at this critical period, together with those of 
the other colonies, in the common cause, the salvation of America evi- 
9 



98 THE HUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

dently depends. Your colony, I am persuaded, will not be behindhand. 
Exert, therefore, every nerve to distinguish yourselves. Quicken your 
preparations, and stimulate the good people of your government, and 
there is no danger, notwithstanding the mighty armament with which 
we are threatened, but you will be able to lead them to victory, to 
liberty, and to happiness." 

Under date of July 4, 1776, John Hancock writes to the govern- 
ments of INI-aryland and Delaware, in language breathing the fervor of 
burning patriotism. We select a passage from this truly noble docu- 
ment: "Gen. Howe having taken possession of Staten Island, and 
the Jerseys being drained of their militia for the defence of New York, 
I am directed by Congress to request you will proceed immediately to 
embody your militia for the establishment of the flying camp, and 
march them, with all possible expedition, either by battalions, detach- 
ments of battalions, or by companies, to the city of Philadelphia. The 
present campaign, I have no doubt, if we exert ourselves properly, will 
secure the enjoyment of our liberties forever. All accounts agree that 
Great Britain will make her greatest effort this summer. Should we, 
therefore, be able to keep our ground, we shall afterwards have little 
to apprehend from her. I do, therefore, most ardently beseech and 
request you, in the name and by the authority of Congress, as you 
regard your own freedom, and as you stand engaged by the most solemn 
ties of honor to support the common cause, to strain every nerve to 
send forward your militia. This is a step of such infinite moment, 
that, in all human probability, your speedy compliance will prove the 
salvation of your country. It is impossible we can have any higher 
motives to induce us to act. We should reflect, too, that the loss of 
this campaign will inevitably protract the war ; and that, in order to 
gain it, we have only to exert ourselves, and to make use of the means 
which God and nature have given us to defend ourselves. I must, 
therefore, again repeat to you, that the Congress most anxiously expect 
and request you will not lose a moment in carrying into effect this 
requisition, with all the zeal, spirit, and despatch, which are so indis- 
pensably required by the critical situation of our affiiirs." On the 6th 
of July, 1776, Hancock, in writing to Washington, thus emphasizes : 
"The Congress, for some days past, have had their attention occupied 
by one of the most interesting and important subjects that could pos- 
sibly come before them, or any other assembly of men. Although it 



JOHN HANCOCK. 99 

is not possible to foresee the consequences of human actions, yet it is, 
nevertheless, a duty we owe ourselves and posterity, in all our public 
counsels, to decide in the best manner we are able, and to trust the 
event to that Being, who controls both causes and events, to bring 
about his own determinations. Impressed with this sentiment, and at 
the same time fully convinced that our affairs may take a more favora- 
ble turn, the Congress have judged it necessary to dissolve all connec- 
tion between Great Britain and the American Colonies, and to declare 
them free and independent States, as you will perceive by the enclosed 
Declaration, which I am directed by Congress to transmit to you, and 
to request you will have proclaimed at the head of the army, in the way 
you shall think most proper." Hancock says to Washington, in 
another letter, written on the memorable 4th of July: "Sir, — The 
enclosed resolves, to which I must beg leave to refer your attention, 
will inform you of the steps Congress has taken to establish the flying 
camp. To the unhappy confusion that has prevailed in this colony 
must be principally ascribed the delays that have hitherto attended 
that salutary measure. However, I flatter myself things will now take 
a different turn, as the contest to keep possession of power is now at 
an end, and a new mode of government, equal to the exigencies of our 
affairs, will soon be adopted, agreeably to the recommendations of Con- 
gress to the United Colonies." 

In an eloquent appeal to the thirteen United States, dated at Phil- 
adelphia, Sept. 24, 1776, our spirited Hancock says: "Let us con- 
vince our enemies that, as we are entered into the present contest 
for the defence of our liberties, so we are resolved, with the firmest 
reliance on Heaven for the justice of our cause, never to relinquish it, 
but rather to perish in the ruins of it. If we do but remain firm, — 
if we are not dismayed at the little shocks of fortune, and are deter- 
mined, at all hazards, that we will be free, — I am persuaded, under the 
gracious smiles of Providence, assisted by our own most strenuous 
endeavors, we shall finally succeed, agreeably to our wishes, and thereby 
establish the independence, the happiness, and the glory, of the United 
States of America," 

In the same letter, he writes: "You will perceive, by the 
enclosed resolves, which I have the honor to forward in obedience to 
the commands of Congress, that they have come to a determination to 
augment our army, and to engage the troops to serve during the con- 
tinuance of the war. As an inducement to enlist on these terms, the 



100 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Congress have agreed to give, besides a bounty of twenty dollars, a 
hundred acres of land to each soldier ; and, in case he should fall in 
battle, they have resolved, that his children, or other representatives, 
shall succeed to such land. The many ill consequences arising from 
a short and hmitcd enlistment of troops are too obvious to be men- 
tioned. In general, give me leave to observe, that to make men well 
acquainted with the duties of a soldier requires time ; and to bring 
them under proper subordination and disciphne, not only requires time, 
but has always been a work of much difficulty. We have had too fre- 
quent experience that men of a few days' standing will not look for- 
ward, but, as the time of their discharge approaches, grow careless 
of their arms, ammunition, &c., and impatient of all restraint. The 
consequence of which is, the latter part of the time for which the sol- 
dier was engaged is spent in undoing what the greatest pains had been 
taken to inculcate at first. Need I add to this, that the fall of the late 
Gen. Montgomery before Quebec is undoubtedly to be ascribed to the 
limited time for which the troops were engaged, — whose impatience to 
return home compelled him to make the attack, contrary to the convic- 
tion of his own judgment. This fact alone furnishes a striking argu- 
ment of the danger and impropriety of sending troops into the field 
under any restriction as to the time of the enlistment. The noblest 
enterprise may be left unfinished by troops in such a predicament, or 
abandoned at the very moment success must have crowned the attempt. 
The heavy and enormous expenses consequent upon calling forth the 
militia, the delay attending their motions, and the difficulty of keeping 
them in camp, render it extremely improper to place our whole depend- 
ence upon them. Experience hath uniformly convinced us of this, 
some of the militia having actually deserted the camp at the very 
moment their services were most wanted. In the mean time, the 
strength of the British army, which is great, is considered much more 
formidable by the superior order and regularity which prevail in it." 

In a manly letter to Gen. Schuyler, dated Philadelphia, Oct. 4, 
1776, Hancock writes, transmitting the resolve of Congress expressive 
of their high sense of his past conduct, that " Congress cannot give 
their consent to your retiring from the army in its present situation. 
Such a step would give your enemies occasion to exult, as they might 
suppose you were induced to take it from an apprehension of the truth 
and reality of their charges against you. The unmerited reproaches 
of ignorance and mistaken zeal are infinitely overbalanced by the sat- 



JOHN HANCOCK. 101 

isfaction arising from a conscious integrity. As long, therefore, as 
you can wrap yourself in your innocence, I flatter myself you will 
not pay so great a regard to the calumnies of your enemies as to 
deprive your country of any services which you may have it in your 
power to render his." In a spirited letter to six of the States, dated 
Philadelphia, Oct. 9, 1776, Hancock writes : "The Congress, for very 
obvious reasons, are extremely anxious to keep the army together. 
The dangerous consequences of their breaking up, and the difficulty 
of forming a new one, are inconceivable. Were this barrier once 
removed, military power would quickly spread desolation and ruin 
over the face of our country. The importance, and, indeed, the abso- 
lute necessity, of filling up the army, of providing for the troops, and 
engaging them to serve during the war, is so apparent, and has been 
so frequently urged, that I shall only request your attention to the 
resolves of Congress on this subject ; and beseech you, by that love you 
have for your country, her rights and liberties, to exert yourselves to 
carry them speedily and efiectually, as the only means of preserving 
her in this her critical and alarming situation." In a letter to four of 
the States, dated Baltimore, Dec. 25, 1776, Hancock writes: "It is 
needless to use arguments on this occasion, or to paint the dreadful 
consequences, to gentlemen alread}?- fully acquainted with them, of leav- 
ing the back settlements of the New England States open to the rav- 
ages of our merciless foes. If anything can add to your exertions, at 
this time, it must be the reflection that your own most immediate safety 
calls upon you to strain every nerve. Should we heedlessly abandon 
the post of Ticonderoga, we give up inconceivable advantages. Should 
we resolutely maintain it, — and it is extremely capable of defence, — 
we may bid defiance to Gen. Carleton, and the northern " army under 
his command. But our exertions for this purpose must be immediate, 
or they will not avail anything. The 31st of this inst. the time will 
expire for which the troops in that important garrison were enhsted, 
and Lake Champlain will, in all probability, be frozen over soon after. 
For the sake, therefore, of all that is dear to freemen, be entreated to 
pay immediate attention to this requisition of Congress, and let nothing 
divert you from it. The afiairs of our country are in a situation to 
admit of no delay. They may still be retrieved, but not without the 
greatest expedition and vigor." 

Gov. Hancock, in writing to the Hon. Robert Morris, Financier 
General at Washington, under date Philadelphia, Sept. 24, 1781, says: 
9* 



102 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATOES. 

" Pray, my friend, when will be tlie properest time for me to be con- 
sidered for my expenses wliile President of Congress ? They wrote 
me on the subject some two years ago ; but I waived troubling them, 
knowing the delicacy of their situation. Indeed, I kept no account of 
my expenses ; nor had I time for it, as you well know how my time 
was engrossed, and the labors and fatigue I underwent, and the expenses 
I must have necessarily incurred. I can speak plain to you : confident 
I am that fifteen hundred pounds sterling would not amount to the 
expenses I incurred as president. In this I think I merit considera- 
tion, more especially as grants have been made to all my successors." 
Had Congress remitted Hancock twice that amount, it would have 
been no equivalent to the sacrifices of this devoted patriot. 

President Hancock was appointed, by the General Court of his 
native State, Feb. 8, 1778, first Major-general of the Massachusetts 
Militia ; and, during a recess of Congress in July, on the very day 
succeeding that when he acted as moderator of a town-meeting, Aug. 
6th of that year, when the people at Faneuil Hall unanimously decided 
that persons who have left the town, and have sought and received pro- 
tection from the British king, cannot return to it again without greatly 
endangering the peace and safety of Boston, the Cadet company, 
headed by Maj. Gen. Hancock, and commanded by Col. Hichborn, 
and the company of Light Infantry, commanded by Capt. Hinckley, 
both of this town, set out for head-quarters, to engage in an enter- 
prise in cooperation with the fleet of the French admiral, the Count 
D'Estaing, against Newport, in Rhode Island, conducted by a detach- 
ment from the regular army of Washington, and seven thousand of the 
mihtia of New England, — an expedition which excited great anticipa- 
tions, — the whole under command of Maj. Gen. Sullivan, aided by the 
Marquis De La Fayette and Maj. Gen. Greene. On August 9th they 
landed on Newport Island, and took possession of two of the enemy's 
forts, under Lord Howe, and the whole island north of their lines, with- 
out a gun fired on either side. The second hne of this army was com- 
manded by Gen. Hancock, who, warm with ardor, despatched intelli- 
gence, on the 11th instant, to Hon. Jeremiah Powell, President of the 
State Council. On the arrival of these troops in the island, the fleet 
of Lord Howe appeared upon the coast. We would have our readers 
revert to the Massachusetts Historical Collections, and Bradford's 
Massachusetts, for a relation of this contest. 

Count D'Estaing, regardless of* his obligations with the American 



JOHN HANCOCK. 103 

troops, instead of defending them, hastened to the pursuit of the Brit- 
ish, and exposed the army of his allies to all the calamities of a defeat; 
and the Americans were left, in the midst of great danger, to a morti- 
fying retreat, which they achieved, however, without the loss of artil- 
lery or baggage, and the fleet arrived at the same time in Boston 
harbor, shattered by a furious storm. 

Under these circumstances, the French were not received in Boston 
with the usual hospitality of its inhabitants, says Sanderson's Biogra- 
phy, and with a displeasure which threatened unhappy results ; but 
Gen. Hancock, interposing, relieved his country from such a calamity, 
by his conciliating manners and unbounded hospitality. His elegant 
mansion was thrown open to the French admiral and all his officers, 
about forty of whom dined every day at his table, loaded with the lux- 
uries of the season ; and, in addition, he gave a grand pubhc ball at 
Concert Hall, attended by the admiral. On turning to the Gazette, 
however, we find that Admiral D'Estaing, Sept. 21, made a splendid 
entry into Boston. He Avas saluted from the Castle, the ships and 
forts in the harbor, as he approached the town. Upon landing, he was 
received by the State authorities, at the Council-chamber in King- 
street, and breakfasted with Gen. Hancock at his seat ; and a superb 
entertainment was given that week at Faneuil Hall, where were 
upwards of five hundred guests. The retreat of the Americans Avas, 
indeed, a remarkable escape. The delay of a single day would proba- 
bly have been fatal ; for Sir Henry Chnton, who had been detained by 
adverse winds, arrived with a reinforcement of four thousand men the 
very next day, when a retreat, it is suspected, would have been imprac- 
ticable. 

In the reminiscences of John Trumbull are two allusions to Hancock. 
It appears that Gen. Gates, who had been appointed to the command of 
the northern department in Canada, had, previous to his entrance on 
the station, appointed Mr. Trumbull a deputy adjutant-general on that 
station, which was rejected by Congress as premature and unmilitary. 
This occurred in 1775, when Hancock was president; and the circum- 
stance probably excited a prejudice unfavorable to Trumbull, who 
relates that, " While I was in Gen. Washington's family, in 1775, Mr. 
Hancock made a passing visit to the general, and, observing me, he 
inquired of Mr. Mifflin who I was ; and, when told that I was his fellow 
aid-de-camp, and son of Gov. Trumbull, he made the unworthy observa- 
tion, that ' that family was loell provided for.^ Mr. Mifflin did not 



104 THE HUXDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

tell me this until after Mr. Hancock had left head-quarters, but then 
observed that he deserved to be called to an account for it. I answered, 
' No, — he is right ; my father and his three sons are doubtless well 
provided for. We are secure of four halters, if we do not succeed.' " 
There is a strong probabihty that Hancock regretted this remark, and 
felt that Trumbull was wronged ; and after Col. Trumbull's service, as 
aid-de-camp to Gen. SuUivan, in the attack on Rhode Island, in 1778, 
when he returned to Boston overcome with fatigue and severe indispo- 
sition, before he rose next morning, a visit from Gov. Hancock was 
announced. " He followed the servant to my bedside," says Trumbull, 
" and, with great kindness, insisted that I should be removed to his house 
immediately, where, if my illness should become serious, I could be 
more carefully attended than was possible in a boarding-house. I made 
light of my illness, and, with many thanks, declined his pressing invi- 
tation. But it was a proud and consoling reflection, that he, who had 
been President of Congress at the time of my resignation, and who 
had both signed and forwarded the misdated commission which had 
driven me from the service, had now witnessed my military conduct, 
and seen that I was not a man to ask, but to earn, distinction." No 
doubt these patriots were soon reconciled, as Gov. Hancock sat to 
Trumbull for his portrait. 

In 1780 Hancock was elected a member of the convention that 
framed a State constitution, of which James Bowdoin was president. 
At that time the people of the State were divided into two political par- 
ties, with one of which the popularity of John Hancock was unbounded ; 
with the other, James Bowdoin was the favorite. "In the Hancock 
party," says Josiah Quincy, " were included many of the known mal- 
contents with Harvard College, — men who had no sympathy for science 
or classical education, and who were ready to oppose any proposition 
for the benefit of that institution." Is not this a sweeping denuncia- 
tion, too severe to credit ? On the contrary, the party of which James 
Bowdoin may be considered the exponent " included all the active 
friends of that seminary, and was chiefly composed of men regarded by 
the opposite faction with jealousy and fear, to some of whom Hancock 
then gave the sobriquet of 'The Essex Junto,' — the delegates from 
that county being among the most talented and efiicient members of 
the convention." Would it be uncandid to concede that the Hancock 
party embraced a few friends of Harvard College 7 Did not Gov. 
Hancock prove, by his public messages, the paternal interest of his 



JOHN HANCOCK. 105 

heart in the welfare of the college ? Does not President Quincy prove 
it by his own statement, where he relates that " Gov. Hancock was 
induced to allude to the necessity of legislative aid, in his speech to 
the General Court, in May, 1791, and to introduce, by a special mes- 
sage, the memorial of Samuel Adams and others, a committee of the 
overseers and corporation, of the necessity of making up by the 
arrearages of the usual grants to college officers, — without which, they 
averred, that ' either the assessment on the students must be aug- 
mented, or some of the institutions of the college must fail of support ' ? 
After great debates, the subject was again referred to the next session 
of the Legislature;" and on another occasion, in 1781, did not Han- 
cock remark, that the college was, "in some sense, the parent and 
nurse of the late happy revolution in this Commonwealth '"? 

On the adoption of the State constitution at that date, John Han- 
cock was elected governor, which station he occupied until his decease, 
with the exception of the years 1785 and 6, when his great rival, 
James Bowdoin, became his successor. 

One who saw John Hancock in June, 1782, relates that he had the 
appearance of advanced age. He had been repeatedly and severely 
afflicted with the gout ; probably owing in part to the custom of drink- 
ing punch, — a common practice, in high circles, in those days. As 
recollected at this time, Gov. Hancock was nearly six feet in height, 
and of thin person, stooping a little, and apparently enfeebled by dis- 
ease. His manners were very gracious, of the old style of dignified 
complaisance. His face had been very handsome. Dress was adapted 
quite as much to be ornamental as useful. Gentlemen wore wigs when 
abroad, and, commonly, caps when at home. At this time, about noon, 
Hancock was dressed in a red velvet cap, within which was one of fine 
linen. The latter was turned up over the lower edge of the velvet 
one, two or three inches. He wore a blue damask gown lined with 
silk, a white stock, a white satin embroidered waistcoat, black satin 
small-clothes, white silk stockings, and red morocco slippers. It was 
a general practice, in genteel families, to have a tankard of punch 
made in the morning, and placed in a cooler when the season required 
it. At this visit, Hancock took from the cooler, standing on the 
hearth, a full tankard, and drank first himself, and then ofiered it to 
those present. His equipage was splendid, and such as is not custom- 
ary at this day. His apparel was sumptuously embroidered with gold 
and silver and lace, and other decorations fashionable amonoist men of 



106 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

fortune of that period ; and he rode, especially upon public occasions, 
with six beautiful bay horses, attended by servants in livery. He 
wore a scarlet coat, with ruffles on liis sleeves, which soon became the 
prevailing foshion; and it is related of Dr. Nathan Jacques, the 
famous pedestrian, of West Newbury, that he paced all the way to 
Boston, in one day, to procure cloth for a coat like that of John Han- 
cock, and returned with it under his arm, on foot. 

Hancock was hospitable. There might have been seen, at his table, 
all classes, from grave and dignified clergy, down to the gifted in song, 
narration, anecdote, and wit, with whom "noiseless falls the foot of 
Time, that only treads on flowers." 

Madam Hancock gratified the ambition of her husband, in presiding 
with so much graceful ease at his hospitable board and in the social 
circle, that her presence ever infused an enlivening charm. So famed 
was Hancock for hospitality, that his mansion was often thronged with 
visiters ; and frequently did Madam Hancock send her maids to milk 
their cows on Boston Common, early in the morning, to replenish the 
exhausted supply of the previous evening. On July 28, 1796, widow 
Dorothy Hancock was married, by Peter Thacher, D. D., to James 
Scott, the master of a London packet, formerly in the employ of the 
governor. She outlived Capt. Scott many years, and retained her 
mental faculties until near the close of life. She was a lady of superior 
education, and delightful powers of conversation. 

Her last days were retired and secluded, in the dwelling No. 4 Fed- 
eral-street, next the corner of INIilton-place, in Boston ; and those were 
most honored who received an invitation to her little supper-table. 
She spoke of other days Avith cheerfulness, and seldom sighed that they 
had gone. Her memory was tenacious of past times ; and there were 
but few officers of the British army quartered in Boston whose per- 
sonal appearance, habits, and manners, she could not describe with 
accuracy. Her favorite was Earl Percy, whose forces encamped on 
Boston Common during the winter of 1774-5 ; and this nobleman, 
accustomed to all the luxuries of Old England, slept among his com- 
panions in arms in a tent on the Common, exposed to the severity of 
the weather as much as were they. The traces of those tents have 
been visible, to a very recent period, on the Common, when the grass 
was freshly springing from the earth, and the circles around the tents 
were very distinct. At the dawn of day, Madam Scott related, that 



JOHN HANCOCK. 107 

Earl Percy's voice "was heard drilling the regulars near the old 
mansion. 

Madam Hancock had an opportunity, after the capture of Burgoyne, 
of extending her courtesies to the ladies of his army, while at Cam- 
bridge, under the treaty with Gates. They were gratefully received 
by the fair Britons, and ever remembered. When Lafayette was in 
Boston, during his last visit, in August, 1824, he made an early call 
on Madam Scott. Those who witnessed this hearty interview speak of 
it with admiration. The once youthful chevaher and the unrivalled 
belle met as if only a summer had passed since they had enjoyed 
social interviews in the perils of the Kevolution. While they both were 
contemplating the changes effected by long time, they smiled in each 
other's faces, but no allusion was made to such an ungallant subject ; 
yet she was not always so silent on this point. One of her young 
friends complimented her on her good looks. She laughingly rejalied, 
"What you have said is more than half a hundred years old. My 
ears remember it; but what were dimples once are wrinkles now." 
To the last day of life, she was as attentive to her dress as when first 
in the circles of fashion. " She would never forgive a young girl," 
she said, "who did not dress to please, nor one who seemed* pleased 
with her dress." Madam Scott died in Boston, Feb. 3, 1830, aged 
83 years. 

The munificence of John Hancock, in the bosom of the church, was 
as proverbial as it was in forwarding the glory of the republic. In the 
year 1772 he officially proposed to contribute largely towards a new 
meeting-house for Brattle-street Church, of which he was a member, 
A plan for an edifice, drawn by John S. Copley, the artist, was 
rejected, because of the expense; but another, drawn by Maj. Thomas 
Dawes, father of the judge, was adopted. The admirers of genius will 
ever deplore the loss of Copley's design. There were seventy-five 
"free-gift" subscribers, of whom Gov. Bowdoin gave X200, and Gov, 
Hancock gave £1000, reserving to himself the right of erecting a 
mahogany pulpit and furniture, a mahogany deacon's seat and com- 
munion-table, and seats for poor widows, and others unable to provide 
for themselves. When the bell, which was his gift also, was hung and 
rung for the first time, Oct. 28, 1774, weighing 3220 pounds, this 
motto had been inscribed upon it : 

"I to the Church the living call, 
And to the grave I summons all." 



108 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

During the years 1775-6, regiments of the British troops were 
quartered in the new church, in a sugar-house to the north of it, and in 
houses in the near vicinity. Dr. Cooper was often a subject of their 
notice, in passing into the church at service-time, when paraded in the 
square; and the provost once, in breaking open the church door, 
declared that if Dr. Cooper and Dr. Warren were there, he would 
break their heads. The congregation was dispersed, on the 16th of 
April, 1775, when it Avas used as a barrack for the British regulars, 
until the evacuation of Boston, March 17, 1776. Gov. Gage had his 
military head-quarters opposite the church. He told Mr. Turell he 
had no fear of the shot from Cambridge, for his troops, Avhile within 
such walls. The morning on which the British evacuated, Dea. New- 
ell and ^Ir. Turell entered the church, and quenched the fires which 
they had left burning. A shot which struck the tower the night before 
was preserved in his family until the committee for making late repairs 
had it fiistened in the tower where it had penetrated. When the Brit- 
ish were about to occupy the church. Deacons Gore and Newell were 
permitted to encase the pulpit and columns, and remove the body pews, 
which were conveyed to the paint loft of the former. When the church 
was erected, the name of "Hon. John Hancock, Esq." was inscribed 
on one of the rustic quoins, of Connecticut stone, at the south-west 
corner, which the royal regulars badly defaced, and the stone remains 
to this day in the condition in which they left it ; and a similar inscrip- 
tion, unmutilated, appears on one of the rustic quoins in the south-west 
corner of the tower. Palfrey's history of the church relates most of 
these facts. 

Though Hutchinson relates that the estate of Hancock was lost with 
greater rapidity than it was acquired, he was, at the latest period, one 
of the largest owners of real estate in Boston. His ancient stone 
mansion, opposite which, ui the summer, a band of music played for 
the people, stands on the front ground of the possessions inherited 
from his uncle, bounded eastward on Beacon, from Mount Vernon to 
Clapboard, now Belknap street, including the grounds of the State- 
house, Hancock-avenue, and Mount Yernon-place ; and westerly, 
embracing Mount Vernon-street, Avhich he gave to the town ; a part 
of Hancock-street, where was his gardener's extensive nursery ; and 
other lands, including a part of Beacon Hill, now occupied for a 
Cochituate Reservoir, never before improved by any building, until it 
was sold to the city in 1847. His lands were originally of orchards and 



JOHN HANCOCK. 109 

pastures. Hancock was the most public-spirited person ever known 
in Boston, and it is said that he sacrificed more than one hundred 
thousand dollars in the cause of liberty. 

There was a lofty and spacious hall on the northern wing of his 
mansion, extending sixty feet, devoted to festive parties, and built of 
wood. It was removed, in 1818, to Allen-street ; and a complaint 
being entered that it endangered the neighborhood, brick walls were 
built around it. and the building is still standing. Public dinners, 
now given at the public expense, were provided by Hancock from his 
own private purse. The bill of cost for the dinner on election-day. at 
Faneuil Hall, May 25, 1791, was c£90 ; and for 1G3 bottles of wine, 
also, and other items, it was <£65 Gs. Qd. The bill was made out to 
John Hancock, and paid by himself. On the 6th of June following, 
Gov. Hancock gave a splendid entertainment in his glorious hall, it 
being election-day. Among the company present, were Col. Azor 
Orne, and Solomon Davis, Esq., a merchant who resided in Tremont- 
street, opposite the Savings Bank. He was very facetious. A superb 
plum-cake graced the centre of the table. It was noticed by the 
guests that Mr. Davis partook very freely of this cake ; and, more- 
over, that the silver tankard of punch was greatly lightened of its 
liquid, by liberal draughts through his lips. As was the natural habit 
of jMr. Davis, he set the table in a roar ; and in one of his puns being 
specially felicitous. Col. Orne remarked, "Go home, Davis, and die; — 
you can never beat that ! " Mr. Davis, on his way home, fell dead, in 
a fit of apoplexy, near King's Chapel, and his pockets were found 
filled with plum-cake. His decease is recorded in Russell's Centinel 
of that date. 

Gov. Hancock would gather in his hall all the rare wits of the town, 
of whom Nathaniel Balch, a hatter, was a never-failing guest, well 
known as the governor's jester. His shop was on "Washington opposite 
Water street ; and he would, when seated in his broad arm-chair at the 
shop-door, keep his visiters in a roar at his witticisms. So strong was 
the attachment of the governor towards liim, that if the former were 
called away, at no matter what distance. Squire Balch attended him, 
like his shadow, — which we will illustrate. Hancock was called on to 
visit the District of Maine, on which occasion he travelled in state, 
and was attended by Hon. Azor Orne, of the Council, of Marblehead, 
and his old friend Balch. Their arrival at Portsmouth, N. H., was 
thus humorously announced : On Thursday last, arrived in this town, 
10 



110 THE IIUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Nathaniel Balcli, Esq., accompanied by His Excellency John Hancock, 
and the Hon. Azor Orne, Esq. 

Among the most tenacious political opponents of John Hancock was 
Stephen Higginson, a nervous writer of great spirit, whose articles, 
signed "Laco," in Russell's Centinel, effected a strong feeling. Mr. 
Higginson was a merchant on Long Wliarf, and passed down State-street 
to his store. The truckmen who stood in State-street used great efforts 
to teach a parrot, that hung in a cage at the corner of Merchant' s-row, 
to recognize '• Laco," and to curse him, relates Thomas ; and so com- 
pletely successful were they, that pretty Poll no sooner saw Mv. Higgin- 
son approach, than she began to " Hurrah for Hancock ! Down with 
Laco ! " — and continued to do so until he was out of sight. In con- 
nection with this, we will relate another incident. One evening, early 
in the year 1789, in a party, according to Russell's Centinel, consist- 
ing of the advocates of Gov. Hancock and of his political opponents, 
one of the latter, long famous for his unfriendly air, began a long 
harangue on Hancock's unwise administration ; but before he had ended, 
he oljserved one of the company asleep. Offended at the indignity, he 
ceased, until the speaker's friends awoke the slumberer, who apolo- 
gized, and proposed, as a reparation, to relate his dream. " Gentle- 
men," said he, "I dreamed I was in the abodes of misery. The first 
spirit I met was Lucifer, who, as usual for liim, came to welcome me, 
and asked, ' What news upon earth?' ' Not much,' said L 'What 
are they doing at Boston 7 ' said he. I told him they were trying to 
again elect John Hancock as governor. ' That will never do,' cried 
Lucifer ; ' Jack, fetch my horse, boots, and spurs. But pray what 
has become of Laco 7' 'He is there, very busy.' '0, never mind, 
then. Jack ; let the horse go, and put away my boots and spurs ; for 
while Laco is in Boston, there is no need of my presence. He can 
perform the work of confusion to admiration, without my aid.' " This 
sally of wit set the club in a roar, and the ranter was so chagrined that 
he uttered no more declamation. Hancock was that year elected 
governor of the Old Bay State. 

It was asserted, in Russell's Centinel, that it was generally known 
that privateers were fitting out of the port of Boston, and have been, 
by American and French citizens, notwithstanding President Wash- 
ington had proclaimed that our country was in a state of neutrality. 
A town-meeting was notified, which took place on July 25, 1793. 
Thomas Dawes, the moderator, called upon Mr. Benjamin Russell for 



JOHN HANCOCK. Ill 

his authority, on which he declared that Stephen Higginson related the 
statement. The latter roundly denied the charge. The one -was 
accused of asserting what he could not prove, and the other for print- 
ing what was never stated. IMr. Russell, therefore, was impelled to 
retract, saying that he had been misinformed. The editor of the Bos- 
ton Mercury very pleasantly said, in his paper : 

" Stephen and Ben are now both even ; 

len beat Ben, and Ben beat Stephen." 



Gov. Hancock was elected a delegate to the Massachusetts State 
Convention, on the adoption of the federal constitution, which 
assembled at the Rev. Jeremy Belknap's church, in Long-lane, — 
afterwards named Federal-street, in honor of the convention, — Jan. 
9, 1788, on which occasion Hancock was elected president, and George 
Richards Minot, secretary. Hancock had been absent some days, from 
illness. On the 31st day he resumed his place ; and, after remarking 
on the difference of opinion which prevailed in the convention, he pro- 
posed that the constitution should be adopted, but that it should be 
accompanied by certain amendments, to be submitted to Congress. He 
expressed his belief that it would be safe to adopt the constitution, 
under the hope that the amendments would be ratified, which led to a 
discussion on its probability. "It cannot be assumed, for certainty," 
says Sulhvan, "that this measure of Hancock's secured the adoption; 
but it is highly probable. The convention may have been influenced 
by another circumstance. About this time, a great meeting of 
mechanics was held at the Green Dragon Tavern, which was thronged. 
At this meeting resolutions were passed, with acclamation, in favor of 
the adoption. But notwithstanding Hancock's conciliatory proposal, 
and this strong public expression, the constitution was adopted by the 
small majority of nineteen, out of three hundred and fifty votes." On 
taking this question. Gov. Hancock said : "I should have considered it 
as one of the most distressing misfortunes in my hfe, to be deprived 
of giving my aid and support to a system which, if amended, as I 
feel assured it will be, according to your proposals, cannot fail to give 
the people of the United States a greater degree of political freedom, 
and eventually as much national dignity as falls to the lot of any 
nation on the earth. The question now before you is such as no 
nation on earth, without the Hmits of America, have ever had the 



112 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

privilege of deciding." The proposed amendments were twelve in 
number. They were submitted to the States. Ten of them were 
adopted, and now form a part of the constitution of the United States. 
The adoption was celebrated in Boston by a memorable procession, in 
which the various orders of mechanics displayed appropriate banners. 
It was hailed with joy throughout the republic. Gen. Washington is 
well known to have expressed his hearty satisfaction that the import- 
ant State of Massachusetts had acceded to the Union. The proces- 
sion was so vast, that though Faneuil Hall could then accommodate 
fifteen hundred persons, not half the people could find room to enter. 

" The 'Vention did in Boston meet, — 
But State-house could not hold 'em ; 
So then they -went to Federal-street, 
And there the truth -was told 'em. 

" They every morning went to prayer. 
And then began disputing, 
Till opposition silenced were. 
By arguments refuting. 

" Then Squire Hancock, like a man 
Who dearly loves the nation, 
By a conciliatory plan. 
Prevented much vexation. 

" He made a woundy Federal speech. 
With sense and elocution ; 
And then the 'Vention did beseech 
T' adopt the constitution. 

" The question being outright put. 
Each voter independent, 
The Federalists agreed to adopt, 
And then propose amendment. 

•' The other party, seeing then 
The people were against them. 
Agreed, like honest, faithful men, 
To mix in peace amongst 'em. 

" The Boston folks are deuced lads. 
And always full of notions ; 
The boys and girls, their marms and dads, 
Were filled with joy's commotions ; 



JOHN HANCOCK. 113 

" So straightway they procession made, — 
Lord ! how nation fine, sir ! 
For every man of every trade 
Went with his tools to dine, sir. 

" John Foster AVilliams, in a ship, 
Joined in the social band, sir ; 
And made the lasses dance and skip, 
To see him sail on land, sir ! 

" then a whopping feast began. 
And all hands went to eating ; 
They drank their toasts, shook hands, and sung, — 
Huzza for 'Vention meeting ! 

" Now, politicians of all kinds. 
Who are not yet derided. 
May see how Yankees speak their minds. 
And yet are not decided. 

" Then, from this sample, let 'em cease 
Inflammatory writing ; 
For freedom, happiness, and peace, 
Are better far than fighting. 

" So here I end my Federal song. 
Composed of thirteen verses ; 
May agriculture flourish long. 
And commerce fill our purses." 

Just three days previous to the entry of Washington into Boston, in 
the year 1789, an effusion appeared in Russell's Centinel, addressed to 
the citizens. Its fervor of affection must be our apology for its insertion 
here: 

" The man beloved approaches nigh, — 
Revere him, ye Bostonian sons ! 
Embrace the chance before you die. 
And cannonade with all your guns. 

" Let lively squibs dance through the town. 
And pleasing rockets gild the air ; 
There 's not a man can show a fi.*own. 
But all shall joyously appeal*. 

" Let punch in casks profusely flow. 
And wine luxuriantly be spread ; 
That townsmen all, both high and low. 
May hand in hand by mirth be led." 
10* 



114 THE nUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

We "will proceed to relate a memorable reminiscence of this reception 
of President Washington, T\'hich discloses an instance of frailty in 
regard to etiquette on* the part of Gov. Hancock. 

It is well known that when Washington, with a mind oppressed with 
more painful sensations than he had words to express, accepted the 
presidency, and undertook the more difficult task of guiding in peace 
the nation Avhich he had saved in war, he thought it a proper expression 
of his respect to the republic to take the tour of his country. Where- 
ever he came, he was received with every mark of honor and regard 
that a grateful and confiding people could bestow. Hancock was 
wiUing to show him attention in any way which allowed the governor 
to take precedence of the president. The State, though confederate, 
was sovereign; and who greater here than its chief magistrate ? So it 
was settled, in his mind, that etiquette required his excellency to be 
waited on first in his own house by the president, and not make the 
advance to his illustrious visiter. The president, as appeared in the 
result, had different ideas. On Gen. Washington's approach to Bos- 
ton, Oct. 25, 1789, at some miles distance, attended by two secretaries 
and six servants, he was met by the governor's suite, and an invitation 
to dinner, but no governor. He intends to present himself, thought 
Washington, at the suburbs : but, on arriving at the Neck, he still 
missed Gov. Hancock. The day was unusually cold and murky. 
The president, with his secretaries, had been mounted for a considerable 
time, waiting to enter the town. He made inquiry of the cause of 
the delay ; and, on receiving information of the important difficulty, is 
said to have expressed impatience. Turning to Maj. Jackson, his sec- 
retary, he asked, " Is there no other avenue to the to-mi?" and he was 
in the act of turning his charger, when he was informed that he would 
be received by the municipal authorities, and was conducted amidst the 
universal acclamation of the people. He passed the long procession, 
and reached the entrance of the State-house, but no governor. He 
stopped, and demanded of the secretary if his excellency was above, 
because, if he were, he should not ascend the stairs. Upon being 
assured he was not, he ascended, saw the procession pass, and then 
went to his lodgings. A message came from the governor's mansion 
that dinner was waiting. The president declined, and dined at home. 
Loud expressions of resentment were heard from all quarters at this 
indignity toward the first of men, whom the town had received, on their 
part, with every possible respect. They had not added an entertain- 



JOHN HANCOCK. 115 

ment to their plan, because tliis was claimed by Hancock, In the 
evening, two of the Council came to Washington, with explanations and 
apologies in behalf of the cliief magistrate, — " He was not well," etc. 
" Gentlemen," said Washington, " I am a frank man, and will be frank 
on this occasion. For myself, you will believe me, I do not regard 
ceremony ; but there is an etiquette due to my office which I am not 
at liberty to waive. My claim to the attention that has been omitted 
rests upon the question whether the whole is greater than a part. I 
am told," said Washington, "that the course taken has been designed, 
and that the subject was considered in Council." This was denied. 
One gentleman said, however, it was observed that the President of the 
United States was one personage, and the ambassador of the French 
republic was another personage. "Why that remark, sir, if the sub- 
ject was not before the Council?" Washington continued. "This 
circumstance has been so disagreeable and mortifying, that I must say, 
notwithstanding all the marks of respect and affection received from 
the inhabitants of Boston, had I anticipated it, I would have avoided 
the place." 

The friends of Gov. Hancock held a consultation on the matter, the 
same evening ; and, in compliance Avith their advice, he concluded to 
waive the point of etiquette, as will appear by a note written to Pres- 
ident Washington : 

" Sunday, 26 October, half jmst twelve o'clock. 
" The Governor's best respects to the President. If at home, and at 
leisure, the Governor will do himself the honor to pay his respects in 
half an hour. This would have been done much sooner, had his 
health in any degree permitted. He now hazards everything, as it 
respects his health, for the desirable purpose." 

Washington's Reply. 

" Sunday, 26 October, one o'' clock. 
" The President of the United States presents his best respects to 
the Governor, and has the honor to inform him that he shall be at home 
till two o'clock. The President needs not express the pleasure it will 
give him to see the Governor ; but, at the same time, he most earnestly 
begs that the Governor will not hazard his health on the occasion." 

Hancock rode in his coach, without delay, enveloped in red baize, 
to the lodgings of Washington, at the boarding-house of Joseph Inger- 



116 THE HUXDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

soil, on the corner of Court and Tremont streets, to whose apartment 
he was borne in the arms of attendants. Washington accepted of an 
invitation to dine with Hancock, partook of a public dinner of the 
State authorities where Hancock was not present, and attended an 
oratorio of Jonah, and other pieces, in King's Chapel, on which occa- 
sion he was dressed in a black suit of velvet. The profits of this 
oratorio were appropriated to the expense of finishing the colonnade, 
or portico, of the chapel ; and it is stated that Washington contributed 
handsomely for the object. 

We find the following apostrophe to Hancock, in a poetical tribute 
to Washington, contained in Russell's Centinel, Oct. 31, 1789 : 

" Thou, too, illustrious Hancock ! by his side 
In every lowering hour of danger tried ; 
With him conspicuous o'er the beamy page, 
Descend the theme of every future age. 
When first the sword of early war we drew, 
The king, presaging, fixed his eye on you; 
'T was your dread finger pressed the sacred seal 
Whence rose to sovereign power the public weal !" 

When Washington entered Boston, he came on horseback, dressed 
in his old continental uniform, with his head uncovered. He did not 
bow to the throngs that crowded around him, but sat on his horse, with 
a calm, dignified air. When he dismounted, at the old State-house, he 
came out on a temporary balcony at the west end. A long procession 
passed before him, whose salutations he occasionally returned. A tri- 
umphal arch was erected across the street at that place, and a choir of 
singers were stationed there. When Washington came forward, he 
was saluted by the clear, powerful voice of Daniel Rea, who sang the 
ode prepared for the occasion. 

There is no question that the punctilious exactness of Gov. Hancock, 
in matters of etiquette, more especially in relation to the beloved Wash- 
ington, had a tendency to diminish the respect for him, in the minds 
of our political leaders, that they had been accustomed to extend ; and 
William Cunningham, in the famous correspondence wuth John Adams, 
reminds him of what he himself once said of him in the summer of 
1791, probably when Adams had in his mind this unfortunate affair 
of Washington's reception. Some conversation respecting Hancock 
led Mrs. Adams to remark that he was born near your residence, says 
Cunningham, — "You turned yourself towards your front door, and 



JOHN HANCOCK. IIT 

pointing to a spot in view, you laugliinglj exclaimed, ' Yes, — there 's 
the place Avhere the great Gov. Hancock was born.' Then, composing 
your countenance, and rolhng your eye, you went on with these excla- 
mations : ' John Hancock ! A man without head and without heart ! 
— the mere shadow of a man ! — and yet a Governor of old Massachu- 
setts ! ' Pausing a moment, you breathed a sigh, which sorrowed, as 
plainly as a sigh could sorrow, for poor Massachusetts." Sullivan 
remarks that Hancock was not supposed to be a man of great intellect- 
ual force ; and we have heard it stated, by a person of political emi- 
nence, that Dr. Cooper was the author of Hancock's oration on the 
Massacre, and that Dr. Thacher wrote for him his messages. More- 
over, we have heard that Hon. Judge Parsons wrote for him the 
resolves of the State convention on the adoption of the federal consti- 
tution, which he had the reputation of preparing ; but such detracting 
traditions should be received with decided impressions of disbelief It 
is evident that he was an ardent friend of popular education ; as in 
the first year of his administration, and in 1789, he made a persuasive 
appeal to the State Legislature to provide by law for public schools, 
and for suitable instruction. In relation to the opinion of John Adams, 
we have stronger evidence than the statement of Cunningham, in his 
letter to Judge Wilham Tudor, dated June 5, 1813, contained in 
Felt's Memorials of William S. Shaw, wherein he remarks that "the 
two young men whom I have known to enter the stage of life with 
the most luminous, unclouded prospects, and the best-founded hopes, 
were James Otis and John Hancock. They were both essential to the 
Kevolution, and both fell sacrifices to it." And in another part of the 
same letter, John Adams further asserts of them and Samuel Adams, 
that "they were the first movers, the most constant, steady, perse- 
vering springs, agents, and most disinterested sufferers, and firmest pil- 
lars, of the whole Revolution." Moreover, John Adams remarked, in 
a letter to Rev. Jedediah Morse, D. D., written in 1818, as follows : 
"Of Mr. Hancock's hfe, character, generous nature, great and disin- 
terested sacrifices, and important services, if I had forces, I should 
be glad to write a volume. But this, I hope, will be done by some 
younger and abler hand." It is honor enough to John Hancock, 
that his daring patriotism, in the direst period of his country's perils, 
rendered him especially obnoxious to the British throne. 

Old Massachusetts is greatly indebted to Gov. Hancock for his effi- 
cient measures in the suppression of Shays' Rebellion, which occurred 



118 THE HUNDEED BOSTON ORATORS. 

in 1786, and for the withdrawal of three hundred pounds of his salary 
as governor, which act of patriotism and generosity elicited the public 
thanks of the General Court. 

In the year 1792, a company of comedians, under the direction of 
Charles Powell, arrived at Boston from London, and established theat- 
rical entertainments in a stable, in Board-alley, fitted up for the occa- 
sion. A law having been in existence ever since 1750 against such 
amusements, the exhibitions were advertised under the covert name of 
Moral Lectures. Gov. Hancock was highly offended at such a trans- 
gression, and made it a special topic of censure in his message to the 
Legislature, stating that it was an open breach of the laws, and a most 
contemptuous insult upon the government, advising that these ahens 
and foreigners be brought to condign punishment. A writer in the 
Chronicle of Nov. 22, indignant not only that foreigners should palm 
themselves on a repubhcan people, but also with " tales of love between 
my Lord and Lady, or Sir Charles and his Maid," in this land of lib- 
erty and equality, as preachers of moral lectures, thus versifies : 

" Bostonians ! 
Shall a lawless Bandittis, the feces, 
The refuse of a degenerate people. 
Pass unnoticed, and be suffered 
To triumph over the opinions, 
And the long, ■well-established maxims 
Of our venerable ancestors ? 
Shall vile minions, from a foreign land. 
Affect to treat with open, marked contempt, 
The mild influence of our government. 
In the prevention of those evils 
Which experience and well-known prudence 
Long since stampt by the slow finger of time. 
With wisdom and success ? 
What insult is not to be awaited 
From men, who, regai-dless of their honor. 
Trample upon our laws, — our sacred rights, — 
When the history of whose lives would put 
Modesty and every kindred virtue 
To the blush ! PniLO Dkajiatis." 

On Wednesday, Dec. 3d inst., there was advertised to be performed, 
at the New England Exhibition-room, Board-alley, Feats on the Tight 
Rope ; after which, a Moral Lecture — The True-born L-ishman, or 
Irish Fine Lady, etc. On that evening, on the complaint of INIr. Sul- 
livan, the Attorney-general, Jeremiah Allen, the sheriff of Suffolk, 



JOHN HANCOCK. 119 

arrested Mr. Harper, one of the company of comedians wlio for some 
time past had entertained the people of Boston, as guilty of a breach 
of the law, and held him to bail to appear the next day before the 
justices, and enter into recognizance to appear at the next Supreme 
Court. At the period of the scene Bosworth Field, in Richard the 
Third, the sheriff came unceremoniously forward upon the stage, and 
made prisoner the humpbacked tyrant, and declared, unless the per- 
formances ceased, he should forthwith arrest the whole company. 
Much excitement ensued, and the citizens trod under foot the portrait 
of Hancock, that hung in front of the stage-box. A loud call ensued 
for the performance to proceed, but the actors advised the audience 
quietly to withdraw, and receive the entrance-pay. The performances 
were discontinued until the last day of that year, when the law was 
abolished ; and it is said that many attended, at that time, armed with 
weapons. The building on Federal-street was shortly after erected for 
stage-plays. 

To return : The examination was held at Faneuil Hall, when 
Attorney Sullivan read a special order from Gov. Hancock. H. G. 
Otis, counsel for Harper, objected to the legality of the warrant, as 
contrary to the 14th article of the Declaration of Rights, which requires 
that no warrants shall be issued except upon complaints made on oath. 
Mr. Tudor, also of his counsel, supported Mr. Otis, which was com- 
bated by Mr. Sulhvan. The justices acceded, and the defendant was 
discharged, amid loud applause. 

The last appearance of Gov. Hancock in the presence of the State 
Legislature occurred in the afternoon of Sept. 18, 1793, in the old 
State-house, in State-street, when, owing to debihty, he was brought 
in attended by Mr. Secretary Avery and Sheriff Allen. Being seated. 
Gov. Hancock informed the Legislature that the condition of his health 
would not permit him to address them in the usual way. He there- 
fore hoped they would keep their seats, and requested their indulgence 
while the Secretary of State would read his address, as his infirmity 
rendered it totally impossible for him to speak so as to be heard. 
Eager to maintain the rights of the people, he had summoned the Leg- 
islature to decide on the important question of the suability of the 
States, or rather, the sovereignty of Massachusetts. It was viewed as 
rather remarkable that he should summon a special session for this 
object, as before the period to which the Court was prorogued it was 



120 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

ordained that Hancock should be numbered with the dead, — as if it 
were the intention of Heaven that the man who had ever been fore- 
most in asserting the liberties of the States, should be first to check 
any encroachment on their sovereignty and independence. 

After Secretary Avery had finished reading this valuable and per- 
tinent speech, Gov. Hancock made the following truly pathetic apol- 
ogy, with a tone of voice which at once demonstrated the sincerity of 
his heart, and which could not fail of making a deep impression on the 
mind of every spectator. Hancock said : "I beg pardon of the hon- 
orable Legislature, and I rely on your candor, gentlemen, to forgive 
this method of addressing you. I feel the seeds of mortality growing 
fast within me ; but I think I have, in this case, done no more than 
my duty, as the servant of the people. I never did, and I never will, 
deceive them, while I have life and strength to act in their service." 

^Miilst Great Britain dwells with enthusiasm, says the Chronicle, on 
the death of Chatham, who expired amid his fellow-peers, in making 
one glorious effort to save his country from impending ruin, let Mas- 
sachusetts remember, and to the latest posterity be it known, that Gov. 
Hancock met his constituents, in General Assembly convened, when he 
was unable to articulate, except a few broken, pathetic sentences, and 
there delivered to the Senate and Representatives, through the medium 
of his secretary, the last political legacy of the dying patriot, replete 
with sentiments which deserve to be engraven on the pillars of time. 
The Legislature concurred in the opinion of Hancock, that a State was 
sovereign and independent, and not suable. This last exalted scene 
was worthy the pencil of Trumbull, and beamed with brighter glories 
than the death of Chatham. 

The Assembly rose. Hancock was conveyed to his carriage, and 
taken to his residence, but never again appeared in public. His 
decease occurred Oct. 8, 1793, at the age of fifty-six, of gout and 
exhaustion. The corpse was embowelled, and remained unburied for 
eight days, to give an opportunity for the citizens, from remote parts 
of the State, to render the last tribute of respect to his memory ; and 
they came in tens of thousands. The procession was an hour and one 
half in passing along, and it was conducted with great ceremony. 
Samuel Adams, Avho was lieutenant-governor, followed the bier as 
chief mourner ; but the venerable patriot could not endure the fatigue, 
and on reaching State-street was compelled to retire from the proces- 
sion. 



JOHN HANCOCK. 121 

" As the dead patriot's honored relics passed, 
The pomp was darkened, and the scene o'ercast; 
The world of pleasure passed unheeded by. 
And tears of sorrow stood in every eye. ' ' 

The militia of the town and the country added to the imposing effect 
of the scene. The judges of the Supreme Judicial Court had, to this 
period, worn immense wigs and broad bands above robes of scarlet 
English cloth, faced with black velvet, in winter, and black silk gowns, 
in summer. On this occasion they appeared in the latter, with their 
broad, flowing wigs ; the barristers, also, were in black gowns and club 
wigs. There is a tradition in the family, that on the night after the 
funeral of Hancock, the tomb, located in the Granary, was forcibly 
entered, and the right hand of Hancock was severed from the arm, and 
taken away. This rumor is probably unfounded, as when, in the year 
1841, the remains were gathered, together with the relics of his only 
son, and carefully deposited in a new coflBn, no missing hand was 
observed. Peace to the manes of our American Trajan ! ]\Iay his 
grave, hke his fame, bloom forever ! No monument has ever been 
erected to the memory of John Hancock; and in the New York Mer- 
chant's Magazine of December, 1840, is a brief memoir of Hancock, 
written by George Mountfort, Esq., a native of Boston, in which it is 
proposed that a statue of John Hancock should be erected in the 
building of the Merchant's Exchange, on Wall-street, remarking: 
" Let an American sculptor breathe into chiselled marble the soul, and 
invest it with the form, of him who should be the merchant's pride 
and boast ; and let it stand the presiding genius of a temple reared 
and consecrated to the commercial interests of our great city." How 
much more seemly is it that the sons of the Old Bay State eVect an 
exquisite marble statue to the memory of this most eminent patriot 
and munificent Bostonian, either over his unhonored remains in the 
Granary, or in the near view of that to Bowditch, at ISIount Auburn, 
the sacred forest of monuments ! 

Thy political reputation, Hancock, says Benjamin Austin, will ever 
be revered by the republican^ of America ! Thou wilt live, illustrious 
spirit, in the hearts of thy countrymen ; and while liberty and the 
rights of thy country are duly estimated, thy name mil be held in 
grateful remembrance. The proscription of George the Third is a 
" mausoleum" to thy memory, which will survive a ponderous mon- 
ument of marble ! 

11 



122 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

ON JOHN HANCOCK. 

BY CHAPMAN WHITCOMB. 1795. 

Jove, armed in thunder, ne'er appeared more great, 

Old Delai Lama, on his throne of state. 

Had not more votaries, no Turkish Dey, 

Nor eastern sage, had more respect than he ; 

His house the seat of hospitality, 

And famed for alms and deeds of charity. 

Noble his mien, and elegant his air ; 

Comely his person, and his visage fair ; 

Old Cato's virtues did his actions grace. 

Courtiers were awed, and senators gave place ; 

Knowledge and dignity shone in his face. 



PETER THACHER, D. D. 

MARCH 6, 177G. ON THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 

As Boston was at this time garrisoned by the British regulars, and 
the patriotic inhabitants were in the country, a meeting was assembled 
in the meeting-house at Watertown, at ten A. M., March 5, 1776, and 
after choosing the Hon. Benjamin Austin moderator, and after a fer- 
vent prayer by Rev. Dr. Cooper, the Rev. Peter Thacher delivered an 
oration, which was received with universal approbation, it being the 
anniversary of Preston's Massacre, says the New England Chronicle, 
eflfected " by a band of ruffians sent hither by George, the brutal tyrant 
of Britain, in order to execute his infernal plans for enslaving a free 
people." The oration was published by Benjamin Edes, at Watertown. 
Boston being occupied by the royalists at this day, there was no lan- 
tern exhibition, or other transparencies, which had previously occurred 
at the inn of Mrs. Mary Clapham, an antique, spacious, two-story brick 
house located on the site of the present Merchant's Bank. Many 
British officers boarded with Mrs. Clapham, who had several beautiful 
daughters, one of whom eloped with one of the officers, and is said to 
have become his wife. 



PETER THACHER, D, D. 123 

In the patriotic performance before us, it is remarked : " English- 
men have been wont to boast of the excellence of their constitution, — 
to boast that it contained whatever was excellent in every form of gov- 
ernment hitherto by the wit of man devised. In their king, whose 
power was limited, they have asserted that they enjoyed the advantages 
of monarchy, without fear of its evils ; while their House of Commons, 
chosen by the suffrages of the people, and dependent upon them, repre- 
sented a republic, their House of Peers, forming a balance of power 
between the king and the people, gave them the benefit of an aristoc- 
racy. In theory, the British constitution is, on many accounts, 
excellent; but when we observe it reduced to practice, — when we 
observe the British government, as it has been for a long course 
of years administered, — we must be convinced that its boasted advan- 
tages are not real. The management of the public revenue, the 
appointment of civil and military ofiicers, are vested in the king. 
Improving the advantages which these powers give him, he hath 
found means to corrupt the other branches of the legislature. Britons 
please themselves with the thought of being free. Their tyrant suffers 
them to enjoy the shadow, whilst he himself grasps the substance, of 
power. Impossible would it have been for the kings of England to 
have acquired such an exorbitant power, had they not a standino-- 
army under their command. With the officers of this army, they have 
bribed men to sacrifice the rights of their country. Having artfully 
got their arms out of the hands of the people, with their mercenary 
forces they have awed them into submission. When they have appeared 
at any time disposed to assert their freedom, these troops have been 
ready to obey the mandates of their sovereign, to imbrue their hands in 
the blood of their brethren. Having found the efficacy of this method 
to quell the spirit of liberty in the people of Great Britain, the right- 
eous administration of the righteous King George the Third determined 
to try the experiment upon the people of America. To fright us into 
submission to their unjustifiable claims, they sent a military force to 
the town of Boston. This day leads us to reflect upon the fiital effects 
of the measure. By their intercourse with the troops, made up in gen- 
eral of the most abandoned of men, the morals of our youth were 
corrupted ; the temples and the day of our God were scandalously pro- 
faned ; we experienced the most provoking insults ; and at length saw 
the streets of Boston strewed with the corpses of five of its inhabit- 
ants, murdered in cool blood by the British mercenaries." 



124 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Tliis pathetic allusion herewith to the death of Warren should ever 
appear in the record of the times : " This day, upon which the gloomy 
scene was first opened, calls upon us to mourn for the heroes who have 
already died on the bed of honor, fighting for God and their country. 
Especially does it lead us to recollect the name and the virtues of Gen. 
Warren ; — the kind, the humane, the benevolent friend, in the private 
walks of life, — the inflexible patriot, the undaunted commander, in his 
pubhc sphere, — deserves to be recollected with gratitude and esteem ! 
This audience, acquainted in the most intimate manner with his num- 
berless virtues, must feel his loss, and bemoan their beloved, their 
intrusted fellow-citizen. Ah! my countrymen, what tender, what 
excruciating sensations, rush at once upon our burdened minds, when 
we recall his loved idea. When we reflect upon the manner of his 
death, — when we fancy that we see liis savage enemies exulting o'er 
his corpse, beautiful even in death, — when we remember that, desti- 
tute of the rites of sepulture, he was cast into the ground, without the 
distinction due to his rank and merit, — we cannot restrain the starting 
tear — we cannot repress the bursting sigh ! We mourn thine exit, 
illustrious shade ! with undissembled grief; we venerate thine exalted 
character ; w^e will erect a monument to thy memory in each of our 
grateful breasts, and to the latest ages will teach our tender infants to 
hsp the name of Warren with veneration and applause ! " 

Rev. Peter Thacher was born at Milton, March 21, 1752. He was 
a son of Oxenbridge Thacher, who published a tract, in 1764, entitled 
" The Sentiments of a British American, occasioned by the Act to 
lay certain Duties on the British Colonies," wherein he remarks: 
= ' Trade is a nice and delicate lady; she must be courted and won by 
soft and fair addresses ; she will not bear the rude hand of a ravisher. 
Penalties increased, heavy taxes laid on, the checks and oppressions of 
violence removed,— these things must drive her from her pleasant 
abode." Our tracts were of no avail with Parhament, and the Stamp 
x\ct was passed in the next year. John Adams writes of Thacher, that 
•'' From 1758 to 1765 I attended every superior and inferior court in 
Boston, and recollect not one in which he did not invite me home to 
spend evenings with him, when he made me converse with him as well 
as I could on°all subjects of religion, mythology, cosmogony, metaphys- 
ics,— Locke, Clarke, Leibnitz, Bolingbroke, Berkley,— the preestab- 
lished harmony of the universe, the nature of matter and of spirit, and 
the eternal establishment of coincidences between their operations, fate, 



PETER THACnER, D. T>. 125 

foreknowledge absolute, — and we reasoned on such unfathomable sub- 
jects, as high as Milton's gentry in pandemonium ; and we understood 
them as well as they did, and no better. But his favorite subject was 
pohtics, and the impending threatening system of parliamentary taxa- 
tion, and universal government over the colonies. On this subject he 
was so anxious and agitated, that I have no doubt it occasioned his 
premature death." 

Young Peter entered the Boston Latin School in 1763, graduated 
at Harvard College in 1769, and was a school-teacher at Chelsea soon 
after that date. From his childhood he had devoted himself to the 
ministry of religion ; and his whole mind, as it expanded, had formed 
itself to this work. The father of Rev. Aaron Green, formerly of 
Maiden, being intimate with him, invited him to pass the Sabbath with 
him, playfully remarking, " You had better bring a couple of sermons 
with you, for perhaps we shall make you preach." Accordingly, it 
came about that he officiated at the morning service. His youthful and 
engaging mien, his silvery voice and golden eloquence, so charmed the 
(hsturbed elements of this divided church, that, during the intermis- 
sion, it was decided, by acclamation, that he was the man to heal the 
(hssensions, and he became their pastor in 1770. During his resi- 
dence in that town, he took an active part in the measure which 
effected the Revolution ; and wrote, at the request of the Massachusetts 
Committee of Safety, a Narrative of the Battle of Bunker Hill, dated 
June 25, 1775, pubhshed in the journals of the Provincial Congress, 
of which he was a member, and said to be the best statement of that 
battle ever prepared. Dr. Thacher drafted, also, the spirited resolves 
and revolutionary instructions recorded on the Maiden records of 
1775. He was a delegate to the Massachusetts Convention of 1780, 
and strenuously contended against establishing the office of Governor 
of the State ; and, when the matter was decided contrary to his wishes, 
he still objected to the title of " His Excellency," which was given to 
the chief magistrate ; — but when the constitution was adopted, he 
gave it his decided support. He was often a chaplain of the State 
Legislature. 

On the 8th of October, 1770, Mr. Thacher married the widow 
Elizabeth Pool, and had ten children, of whom were Rev. Thomas 
Cushing, minister of Lynn, and Hon. Peter Oxenbridge, judge of the 
Boston Municipal Court. 

When Mr. Thacher was invited to the Brattle-street Church, the 
11* 



126 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

good people of Maiden did not relinquish their admired pastor ■without 
a struggle. After much excited negotiation, it was agreed that the 
Brattle-street Church should pay the debt of the Maiden Church, 
amounting to a thousand dollars, — a debt undoubtedly contracted in 
consequence of the general depression of the Revolution. His preach- 
ing was direct, practical, and earnest ; and, hke Samuel Cooper, his 
predecessor of Brattle-street Church, he possessed, in singular excel- 
lence, the gift of prayer ; and so charmed with him was George Whit- 
field, that he called him " The Young Elijah." And it is related of 
his brother. Rev. Thomas Thacher, of Dedham, a man of strong intel- 
lectual powers, that he once remarked of him, " I know brother Peter 
excels me in prayer, but I can give the best sermons." AYe have 
heard it stated, that when Rev. Peter Thacher first appeared in the 
flowing silk gown and bands given him by John Hancock, and read 
from the elegant Bible in the new mahogany pulpit, — also the gift of 
the generous governor, — and the people listened to the musical tones 
of his voice, reasoning for the best interests of the soul, in the graceful 
gestures of oratory, he effected a deep impression. He was settled in 
Boston, Jan. 12, 1785, and with him orthodoxy departed from Brat- 
tle-street Church. He was a frequent inmate of Hancock's festive 
board, who was his parishioner. The degree of Doctor of Divinity, 
from the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, was conferred upon 
him. Being afflicted with an affection of the lungs, he visited Savan- 
nah, Ga., Avhere he died in six weeks after leaving home. A eulogy 
on his character was pronounced, Dec. 81, 1802, by Rev. William 
Emerson, at Brattle-street Church ; and a brief memoir was written by 
Gov. Sullivan, who was his parishioner and devoted admirer. He pub- 
lished twenty pamphlets of a religious and political character, written 
in an easy and famihar style. 

" There is a history in all men's lives, 
Figuring the nature of the times deceased ; 
The which observed, a man may prophesy. 
With a near aim, of the main chance of things 
As yet not come to life; which, in their 
Seeds and weak beginnings, lie en treasured. 
Such things become the hatch and brood of time." 



PEREZ MORTON. 127 

PEREZ MORTON. 

APRIL 8, 1776. OVER THE REMAINS OF WARREN. 

The first object of public interest to the Bostonians, after the evac- 
uation of the British troops, was the recovery of the remains of the 
beloved Warren. They were found on the heights of Charlestown. 
According to Rees' Cyclopedia, "a native of Great Britain, who was 
in Boston at the time of the battle, came to the friends of Warren, ten 
months after that period, and told them he could point out the spot 
where the remains were deposited. He was offered a reward, if his 
information should be correct ; and two brothers of the general, with 
some other gentlemen, accompanied him to the field. A sexton com- 
menced digging on the spot he pointed out, and a corpse soon began 
to appear. The brothers, unable to remain longer, retired, having 
informed the other gentlemen that their brother might be distinguished 
by a particular false tooth. He was identified accordingly." We 
are credibly informed, that the Rev. Andrew Eliot, D.D., who, accord- 
ing to his private diary, received of the munificent Hancock, in the 
year 1777, a three-cornered hat, a wig, a fine suit of clothes, and a 
cask of Madeira wine, has related to his son, Dr. Ephraim Eliot, that 
a barber, who was accustomed to dress the head of General Warren, 
being on the battle-ground at the time of the burial of those who were 
killed on Bunker's Hill, accidentally recognized the body of Warren, 
just as the British regulars were in the act of throwing it into a grave, 
over another body, and on his stating the fact to them, they wrapped 
a mat around his remains previous to covering up the earth ; and this 
was probably the individual alluded to in the Cyclopedia. 

" No useless coffin enclosed his breast, — 

Not in sheet or in shroud they wound Ixim ; 
But he lay, like a warrior taking his rest, 
With his martial cloak around him." 

We have reason to believe that the above relation is mainly correct; and 
we have gathered from Dr. John C. Warren, a nephew of the general, 
the following statement of additional facts : 

The remains of Gen. Warren were deposited in a grave under a 
locust-tree, and the spot is now designated in gilt letters on a granite 



128 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Stone in the ground. They were interred beside the body of a butcher, on 
the day subsequent to the fatal contest, and were personally identified, 
on the April succeeding, by Dr. John Warren, and Ebenezer Warren, 
Esq., the brothers of the general, who readily recognized a false tooth, 
secured by wires, in the place of an eye-tooth which had been pre- 
viously removed ; and, although his body and that of the butcher were 
reduced to skeletons, the discovery of the false tooth, which was famil- 
iar to their eyes, and the aperture in the skull, together with the frock 
of the butcher, which remained entire, satisfied them that they witnessed 
the precious relics of their brother ; and they were removed to Boston, 
where they were entombed in the family vault of Hon. George Rich- 
ards INIinot, adjoining the tomb of Governor Hancock, in the Granary 
Burying-ground, and directly in the rear of the residence of Dr. John 
C. Warren. On turning to the letters of Mrs. Abigail Adams, we find 
it stated, under date of April 7, 1776 : "Yesterday, the remains of our 
worthy General Warren were dug up upon Bunker's Hill, and carried 
into town, and on Monday are to be interred with all the honors of 
war." 

A procession was formed, on the 8th inst., at the State-house, in 
King-street, consisting of a detachment of the continental forces, a 
numerous body of the Free and Accepted Masons, the mourners, mem- 
bers of the General Assembly, selectmen, and citizens of the town. 
The pall was supported by lion. Gen. Ward, Brig. Gen. Frye, Dr. 
Morgan, Col. Gridley, Hon. Mr. Gill, and J. Scollay, Esq. The 
remains were conveyed into Ejng's Chapel, and a very pertinent prayer 
was offered by the Rev. Dr. Cooper, after an excellent dirge. Presi- 
dent Adams' lady wrote on the occasion, and remarked at the time, in 
relation to the orator: " I think the subject must have inspired him. 
A young fellow could not have wished a finer opportunity to display 
his talents. The amiable and heroic virtues of the deceased, recent in 
the minds of the audience ; the noble cause to which he fell a martyr ; 
their own sufierings and unparalleled injuries, all fresh in their minds, 
must have given weight and energy to whatever could be delivered on 
the occasion. The dead body, like that of C^sar, before their eyes, 
whilst each wound, 

* Like dumb mouths, did ope their ruby lips 
To beg the voice and utterance of a tongue : 
Woe to the hands that shed this costly blood, — 
A curse shall light upon their line.' " 



PEREZ MORTON. • 129 

Indeed, this oration of Morton over the remains of Warren instinct- 
ively reminds one of the oration of INIark Antony over the remains of 
Juhus Coesar ; and the occasion and the scene were of equal sublimity. 
The coming apostrophe, taken from the exordium of this splendid 
eulogy, must have deeply awakened the sensibility of the audience : 

"Illustrious relics! 

" What tidings from the grave? Why hast thou left the peaceful 
mansions of the tomb, to visit again this troubled earth 7 Art thou 
the welcome messenger of peace 1 Art thou risen again to exhibit thy 
glorious wounds, and through them proclaim salvation to thy country 1 
Or art thou come to demand that last debt of humanity to which your 
rank and merit have so justly entitled you, but which has been so long 
ungenerously withheld ? And art thou angry at the barbarous usage 7 
Be appeased, sweet ghost ! for, though thy body has long laid undis- 
tinguished among the vulgar dead, scarce privileged with earth enough 
to hide it from the birds of prey, — though not a kindred tear was 
dropped, though not a friendly sigh was uttered, o'er thy grave, — and 
though the execrations of an impious foe were all thy funeral knells, — 
yet, matchless patriot ! thy memory has been embalmed in the affec- 
tions of thy grateful countrymen, who, in their breasts, have raised 
eternal monuments to thy bravery ! " In another passage, Morton 
exclaims: "Like Harrington he wrote, — like Cicero he spoke, — hke 
Hampden he Hved, — and like Wolfe he died ! " 

A few years since, the remains of Gen. Warren were removed from 
the tomb of the Minots to the family tomb of his nephew. Dr. John 
C. Warren, under St. Paul's Church. His skull is in a careful state 
of preservation. 

Perez Morton was born at Plymouth, Nov. 13, 1751. His father 
settled at Boston, and was keeper of the White Horse Tavern, opposite 
Hayward-place, and died in 1793. The son entered the Boston Latin 
School in 1760, and gi-aduated at Harvard College in 1771, when he 
studied law ; but the revolutionary war prevented his engaging in the 
practice, and he took an active part in the cause of freedom. In 1775 
he was one of the Committee of Safety, and in the same year became 
deputy-secretary of the province. After the war, he opened an office 
as an attorney at law, at his residence in State-street, on the present 
site of the Union Bank. In 1778 he married Sarah Wentworth 
Apthorp, at Quincy, noted by Paine as the American Sappho. Mr. 
Morton was a leader of the old Jacobin Club, which held meetings at 



130 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS, 

the Green Dragon Tavern, and became a decided Democrat. A polit- 
ical poet of Boston thus satirizes Perez Morton : 

" Perez, thou art in earnest, though some doubt thee ! 
In truth, the Club could never do without thee ! 
My reasons thus I give thee in a trice, — 
You want their votes, and they want your advice ! 

*'Thy tongue, shrewd Perez, favoring ears insures, — 

The cash elicits, and the vote secures. 
Thus the fat oyster, as the poet tells. 
The lawyer ate, — his clients gained the shells." 

Mr. Morton was Speaker of the House from 1806 to 1811, and was 
attorney-general from 1810 to 1832 ; was a delegate from Dorches- 
ter to the convention for revising the State constitution, in 1820, and 
was vigorous in general debate. He died at Dorchester, Oct. 14, 1837. 
He was an ardent patriot, an eloquent speaker, of an elegant figure 
and pohshed manners. 



BENJAMIN HIGHBORN. 

MARCH 5, 1777. ON THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 

We will cite a passage from this performance, which was dehvered 
at th6 old brick meeting-house, to indicate its patriotic spirit: "We can 
easily conceive," sajs JNIr. Hichborn, " a mixture of prejudice and fear, 
that will excite such awful ideas of the person to whom we have bee» 
taught from our cradles to annex the properties of a most gracious 
sovereign, most sacred majesty, and a train of sucli God-like attributes, 
as would make us feel conscious of a degree of impiety in calhng a 
villain by his proper name, while shrouded under this garb of sanctity. 
But it is exceedingly diverting to view the influence of this chimerical 
divinity in those who are made the immediate tools of supporting it. 
They will tell you it is a task most ungrateful to men of their sensibil- 
ity and refinement, to be made the instruments of sending fire and 
death indiscriminately among the innocent, the helpless, and the fair, 
—but they have sworn to be faithful to their sovereign, and, were they 



BENJAMIN niCHBORN. 131 

ordered to scale the walls of the new Jerusalem, they should not dare 
to dechne the impious attempt. 

" Were it not for this ridiculous faith in the omnipotence of the tyrant 
whom they serve, we must suppose them fools or madmen. Indeed, 
that very faith would justify the charge of extreme madness and folly 
against all mankind who had not been nurtured in this cradle of 
infatuation. Were it not for the indulgence that a generous mind 
will always show to the weakness and prejudices of the worst of men, 
many whom the chance of war has thrown into our hands must have felt 
the severity and contempt of a justly enraged people, while they, with 
all their vanity and ostentation, remain the unhurt objects of our pity. 

" It is surely rather a subject of merry ridicule, than deserving of 
serious resentment, to see many of this kind of gentry affecting to 
deny the character of prisoners, and attributing that indulgence, which 
is the effect of unparalleled generosity, to the mean motive of fear ; but 
we will let them know that they cannot provoke us even to justice in 
the line of punishment, and we leave them to their own consciences, 
and the impartial censures of surrounding nations, to make some 
returns for the unexampled cruelties that many of our friends have 
suffered from their barbarous hands, — in heu of that severity which, 
however just, humanity shudders to inflict. But we cannot think it 
strange to find people, in the subordinate departments of life, influ- 
enced by such ridiculous notions, while their haughty masters seem to 
labor under the misfortune of the same infatuation." 

Benjamin Hichborn was born at Boston, Feb. 24, 1746, graduated 
at Harvard College in 1768, was admitted to the bar July 27th of 
that year, and became an eminent barrister. He was ardent in the 
cause of the Revolution, and one of the most fearless, dauntless patri- 
ots. In 1775, a Tory wrote of him as a prisoner on board the Pres- 
ton, and, as a young lawyer, standing a fair chance for the gallows. 
He was imprisoned on board of a ship of war in Boston harbor, and a 
note of his oration thus alludes to the fact : 

" Capt. Johnson and his crew, the prisoners in general at New York 
and Halifax, Mr. Lovell and many others in Boston, are instances suf- 
ficient to destroy the little credit the British ever had for humanity ; 
and the sufferings of some to which I myself have been a witness, 
exposed to all the inconveniences and hazards of a languishing disease 
in confinement on ship-board, in view of the persons and habitations 
of their nearest friends, and a sympathizing parent turned over the side. 



132 THE HUNDRED BOSTON OEATOES. 

with reproaclics for attempting to speak to his sick, suffering, dying 
child, must give the characters of the polite, sensible, humane Admiral 
Graves, and his nephew Sam, a stamp of infamy which the power of 
time can never wipe away." 

When Mr. Ilichborn took his degree at the college, his commence- 
ment part was in Latin : "An Crimen, non Republicie noxium, Cogni- 
tioni humanas subjici debeat?" He married Hannah Gardner, March 
2, 1780, the widow of Benjamin Andrews, a hardware merchant, 
whom tradition relates he shot with a pistol at the dinner-table of her 
husband, stating he was not aware that the pistol was loaded with ball. 
To obviate the tendency of the imputation against him, we quote from 
the Boston Gazette of Jan. 11, 1779, the following relation of the 
unfortunate death of Benjamin Andrews, which occurred on the Sat- 
urday evening previous : " Sitting in his parlor, with his lady and a 
friend, he had been comparing an elegant pair of pistols, which he had 
bought the preceding day, with a pair which he had some time before, 
and which were supposed to be unloaded. Upon one of these Mr. 
Andrews observed some rust in a place left for the engraver to mark 
the owner's name upon. His friend undertook to rub it off. Having 
accomplished it, he Avas returning the pistol to Mr. Andrews, who was 
sitting in a chair at the table by the fireside. Unhappily, as he took 
it from his friend, Mr. Andrews grasped it in such a manner as 
brought his thumb upon the trigger, which happened to have no guard, 
and it instantly discharged its contents into his head, near his temple, 
and he expired in less than half an hour. It is remarkable that a few 
minutes before he had taken the screw-pins from both these pistols, 
and one of them almost to pieces ; and had handled them without any 
caution, and in every direction against his own body, and those who 
were in the room with him." The verdict of the jury of inquest was, 
that Mr. Andrews came to his death by misfortune. 

As colonel of the Cadets of Boston, he marched to Rhode Island 
in 1778. Mr. Ilichborn was a representative of Boston, a democrat 
of the old school, and a warm advocate of Jefferson. ]\Iany famous 
lawyers read law in his office. He died at Dorchester, Sept. 15, 1817. 

A witty political poet of Boston, in 1795, thus alludes to Ilichborn 
in a poem, " The Lyars," which, when published, excited furious riots : 

" Sooner shall Vinal in his school remain. 
Or Hewes, my pack-horse, common sense attain ; 
Sooner shall Morton's speeches seem too long. 
Or Hichborn to lay a tax upon the tongue 5 



JONATHAN WILLIAMS AUSTIN. 133 

Sooner shall language 'scape the clam-like lip 
Of Tommy Edwards, ere he drinks his flip ; 
Sooner shall Dexter use a word uncouth, 
Than Dr. Jarvis ever speak the truth." 



JONATHAN WILLIAMS AUSTIN. 

MARCH 5, 1778. ON THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 

Jonathan Williams Austin was born at Bostyon, April 18, 1751. 
He entered the Latin Scliool 1759, graduated at Harvard College 
1769. The first English exercise at this college, it is said, on com- 
mencement-day, July, 1769, was a dialogue between Mr. Austin and 
William Tudor. He read law with John Adams at the same period. 

]\Ir. Austin was the first witness examined in the trial of the Brit- 
ish soldiers for the murder of the victims on the 5th of March, 1770. 
He is recorded as clerk to John Adams, Esq., and recognized one 
William McCauley, a prisoner at the bar. He related as follows : 
"On the evening of the 5th of March last, I heard the bells ring, and 
immediately went into King-street." In answer to the question how 
many people were present on his entrance there, he replied, " There 
might be twenty or thirty, I believe. I saw the sentry at the custom- 
house door, swinging his gun and bayonet. There were a parcel of 
men and boys round him. I desired them to come away, and not 
molest the sentry. Some of them came off, and went to the middle 
of the street. I then left them, and went up towards the main guard. 
Immediately a party came down. I walked by the side of them till I 
came to the sentry-box, at the custom-house. McCauley then got to 
the right of the sentry-box ; he was then loading his piece. I was 
about four feet off. McCauley said, ' Damn you, stand off ! ' and pushed 
his bayonet at me. I did so. Immediately I heard the report of a gun. 
He came round the sentry-box, and stood close to it on the right. I 
stood inside the gutter, close by the box, which was three or four feet 
12 



134 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

from the corner of the custom-house." In answer to the question 
how many guns did you hear fired, Mr. Austin rephcd that there were 
five or six. Mr. Austin was admitted to Sufiblk bar July 27, 1772. 

We cannot find that ]\Ir. Austin was ever married ; we infer, how- 
ever, from an " Epitaph for Himself," as follows, that matrimony was 
a subject near his heart, — but he was removed in early life : 

" I had ray failings, be the truth oonfest ; 
And, reader, canst thou boast a blameless breast ? 
Nor hold me all defect ; I had a mind 
That wished all happiness to all mankind, — 
That more than wished, — the little in my power 
I cheered the sorrowing, soothed the dying hour. 
Yearned, though in vain, to save life's parting thread. 
Which mourned the pious, more the vicious, dead. 
Spare me one tear, and then, kind reader, go ; 
Live foe to none, and die without a foe. 
Live, and, if possible, enlarge thy plan ; 
Not live alone, — die, too, the friend of man. 
And when our dust obeys the trumpet's call. 
He '11 prove our friend who lived and died for all." 

He was an elegant writer, and an eloquent speaker. He was a 
member of the Middlesex Convention, in 1774, and chairman of the 
committee that prepared resolutions adopted by the convention. He 
was author of Poetical and Pohtical Essays, and a colonel in the army 
of the Revolution. He died in a southern State, in 1779. 

The patriotic oration of Mr. Austin, delivered at the Old Brick, 
burns Avarm with pure love of country, and we select one passage to 
the point: "It is standing armies in time of peace, and the conse- 
quences thence resulting, that we deprecate. Armies, in defence of 
our country unjustly invaded, are necessary, and in the highest sense 
justifiable. We, my friends, attacked by an arbitrary tyrant, under 
the sanction of a force the efiects of which we have attempted to illus- 
trate, have been obliged to make the last solemn appeal. And I can- 
not but feel a pleasing kind of transport, when I see America, undaunted 
by the many trying scenes that have attended her, still baffling the 
efforts of the most formidable power in Europe, and exhibiting an 
instance unknown in history. To see an army of veterans, who had 
fought and conquered in different quarters of the globe, headed by a 
general tutored in the field of war, illustrious by former victories, and 
flushed with repeated successes, threatening, with all the pomp of 



WILLIAM TUDOK. 135 

expression, to sjjread havoc, desolation, and ruin, around him, — to see 
such a soldiery and such a general yielding to a hardy race of men, 
new to the field of war, — while, on the one hand, it exalts the character 
of the latter, convincingly proves the folly of those who, under pre- 
tence of having a body of troops bred to war and ever ready for 
action, adopt this dangerous system, in subversion of every principle 
of lawful government. Here, if, after having depictured scenes of so 
distressing nature, it may not appear too descending, I could not for- 
bear smiling at the British general and his troops, who, not wilhng to 
reflect on their present humihating condition, affect the air of arrogant 
superiority. But Americans have learnt them that men, fighting on 
the principles of freedom and honor, despise the examples that have 
been set them by an enemy ; and, though in the field they can brave 
every danger in defence of those principles, to a vanquished enemy 
they know how to be generous, — but that this is a generosity not weak 
and unmeaning, but founded on just sentiments, and if wantonly pre- 
sumed upon, will never interfere with that national justice which ever 
ought, and lately has been, properly exerted." 



WILLIAM TUDOR. 

MARCH 5, 1779. ON THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 

William Tudor was born at Boston, March 28, 1750, a son of 
Dea. John Tudor, of Rev. Dr. Lathrop's church, who records, in 1779, 
that " the sudden judgments of an earthquake, terrible storm, and fire, 
have all three done damage to the meeting-house, within his remem- 
brance." The son entered the Latin School in 1758, graduated at 
Harvard College in 1769, studied law with John Adams, was admitted 
to Suffolk bar July 27, 1772, was an eminent counsellor, a colonel in 
the army of the Revolution, and Judge Advocate General from 1775 
to 1778. He married Delia Jarvis, March 5, 1778. He was a mem- 
ber of the House and Senate, and in 1809-10 the Secretary of State. 



136 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Col. Tudor was Vice-president of the Society of Cincinnati of Massa- 
chusetts, in 181G, and was the last orator of that institution, in 1791. 
He acted as Judge Advocate in the trials of officers engaged in the war 
of the Revolution. He was one of the founders of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, in whose collections appears an extended memoir. 
He died July 8, 1819. 

Mr. Tudor was, by the war of the Revolution, separated from the 
lady to whom his affections were engaged, and whom he afterwards 
married. For the benefit of a better air, she resided some time on 
Noddle's Island, in the family of Mr. Williams. One of his boyish 
acquisitions was now of use to him. He was, in his youth, an excel- 
lent swimmer. When a boy, being on a visit on board of an English 
ship of the line in the harbor, the conversation turned upon swimming; 
and he proposed to jump from the taffrail rail over the stern, — which, 
in ships of the old model, was a considerable height, — if any one 
would do the same. A sailor offered himself The boy took the leap, 
but the man was afraid to follow. He now profited by a knowledge of 
this art. To have attempted visiting the island in a boat, would have 
exposed him to certain capture by the enemy ; but, tying his clothes 
in a bundle on his head, he used to swim from the opposite shore of 
Chelsea to the island, make his visit, and return to the continent in 
the same manner. 

In the elegant and spirited oration of Col. William Tudor, delivered 
at the Old Brick, we find a passage specially worthy of perpetual 
record: "In 1764 the plan for raising a revenue from this country 
was resolved on by the British ministry, and their obsequious Parlia- 
ment were instructed to pass an act for that purpose. Not content 
with having for a century directed the entire commerce of America, and 
centred its profits in their own island, thereby deriving from the colo- 
nies every substantial advantage which the situation and trans-marine 
distance of the country could afford them ; not content with appointing 
the principal officers in the different governments, while the king had a 
negative upon every law that was enacted ; not content with our 
supporting the whole charge of our municipal establishments, although 
their own creatures held the chief posts therein ; not content with lay- 
in gexternal duties upon our mutilated and shackled commerce, — they, 
by this statute, attempted to rob us of even the curtailed property, 
the hard-earned peculium which still remained to us, to create a rev- 
enue for the support of a fleet and army ; in reality, to overawe and 



WILLIAM TUDOR. 137 

secure our subjection. — not (as they insidiously pretended) to protect 
our trade, or defend our frontiers ; the first of which they annoyed, 
and the latter deserted. 

"After repealing this imperious edict, — not because it was unjust in 
principle, but inexpedient in exercise, — they proceeded to declare, by 
a public act of the whole legislature, that we had no property but what 
was at their disposal, and that Americans, in future, were to hold their 
privileges and lives solely on the tenure of the good will and pleasure 
of a British Parliament. Acts soon followed correspondent to this 
righteous determination, which not quadrating with American ideas of 
right, justice and reason, a fleet and army were sent to give them that 
force which laws receive when promulgated from the mouths of can- 
non, or at the points of bayonets. We then first saw our harbor 
crowded with hostile ships, our streets with soldiers, — soldiers accus- 
tomed to consider military proAvess as the standard of excellence ; and, 
vain of the splendid pomp attendant on regular armies, they contempt- 
uously looked down on our peaceful orders of citizens. Conceiving 
themselves more powerful, they assumed a superiority which they did 
not feel ; and whom they could not but envy, they affected to despise. 
Perhaps, — knowing they were sent, and believing they were able, to 
subdue us, — they thought it was no longer necessary to observe any 
measures with slaves. Hence that arrogance in the carriage of the 
officers; hence that licentiousness and brutality in the common soldiers, 
which at length broke out with insufferable violence, and proceeding to 
personal insults and outrageous assaults on the inhabitants, soon roused 
them to resentment, and produced the catastrophe which we now com- 
memorate. The immediate horrors of that distressful night have been 
so often and so strikingly painted, that I shall not again Avring your 
feehng bosoms Avith the affecting recital. To the fliithful pen of his- 
tory I leave them to be represented, as the hon-id prelude to those more 
extensive tragedies which, under the direction of a most obstinate and 
sanguinary prince, have since been acted in every corner of America 
where his armies have been able to penetrate." 

Judge Tudor, when on a tour in Europe, about the year 1800, after 
his arrival at London, was presented at court by our ambassador, Rufus 
King. On the mention of his name. King George smiled, and observed, 
in his rapid manner, "Tudor! what — one of us?" Having been 
told that he had just come from France, he eagerly made many inquiries 
respecting the state of that country, the situation of Paris, and the 
12* 



138 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

opinions of the inhabitants. These court presentations are generally a 
mere matter of form ; but foreigners, introduced by their ambassadors, 
are received apart by the king, and before the subjects of the country. 
The king's curiosity continued the interview so long, that Lord Gal- 
loway, the lord in waiting, M'ho had a great amount of duty to perform, 
grew impatient, and said, " His Majesty seems to be so deeply engaged 
with his cousin, that he forgets what a number of persons are in wait- 
ing to be presented." The king, in this audience, exhibited all the 
courtesy and inquisitive good sense which always distinguished him. 

When at Paris, in 1807, the Empress Josephine had it in charge to 
amuse the courtiers during the absence of Napoleon. She gave enter- 
tainments at the palace, which were called cerdcs. The first singers 
and actors were called to perform a few select pieces on these evenings, 
and a light but most exquisite supper was given to the guests. After 
Mr. Tudor and the ladies of his family had been presented, they were 
invited several times to these cercles, and also to similar entertainments 
from the other branches of the imperial family. A trifling circum- 
stance will here show how minute the French are in their attentions. 
In the absence of Napoleon, gentlemen were presented to Cambaceres, 
and afterwards invited to his tal)le. From very abstemious and simple 
habits in early life, he became one of the most luxurious and ostenta- 
tious of the imperial court. He was remarkable for the expense and 
excellence of his table. Mr. Tudor was invdted to dine with him ; and. 
as he did not speak French, though he understood it, a gentleman was 
placed by him who spoke English perfectly. In the course of the din- 
ner, he was ojGfered a piece of plum-pudding, which he declined. He 
was told that it had been prepared purposely for him, thinking it 
was a national dish. Of course, he could not refuse to take a piece. 
Though he was fonder of the simple dishes of his own country than 
the costly and scientific prepai-ations of French cookery, he was alvrays 
wiUing to admit that tliis dinner of the arch-chancellor could not be 
surpassed. 



JONATHAN MASON. 139 

JONATHAN MASON. 

MARCH 5, 1780. ON THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 

Jonathan Mason was born in Boston, Aug. 30, 1752, a son of 
Dea. Jonathan Mason of the Old South Church ; entered the Latin 
School in 1763, graduated at Princeton College in 1774, a student at 
law under John Adams, and an attorney in 1777. IMr. Mason was 
one of the ninety-six attestators of the Boston Massacre, and confirms 
a fact regarding Hutchinson, related in the History of INIassachusetts : 

"Jonathan Mason, of lawful age, testifies and says, that on the 
evening of the 5th of March, 1770, about ten o'clock, being in King- 
street, Boston, standing near His Honor the lieutenant-governor, he 
heard him say to an officer at the head of the king's troops, who, it 
was said, was Capt. Preston, ' Sir, you are sensible you had no right 
to fire, unless you had orders from a magistrate.' To which Capt. 
Preston replied, ' Sir, we were insulted,' — or words to that purpose; 
upon which Capt. Preston desired His Honor to go with him to the 
guard-house, which His Honor dechned, and repaired to the council- 
chamber. 

'•Boston, March 21, 1770." 

On the Monday after the memorable 5th March, 1780, Mr. Mason 
delivered a spirited oration in the Old Brick Church, when a collection 
was taken for the unhappy Monk, still languishing from the cruel wounds 
received at the Massacre. " The living history of our own times will 
carry conviction to the latest posterity," says Jonathan Mason in his 
eloquent performance, "that no state, that no community, — I may say, 
that no family, — nay, even that no individual, — can possibly flourish 
and be happy, without some portion of the sacred fire of patriotism. 
It was this that raised America from being the haunt of the savage, 
and the dwelling-place of the beast, to her present state of civil- 
ization and opulence ; it was this that hath supported her under the 
severest trials ; it was this that taught her sons to fight, to conquer 
and to die, in support of freedom and its blessings. And what is it, 
but this ardent love of liberty, that has induced you, my fellow-citi- 
zens, to attend on this solemn occasion, again to encourage the streams 
of sensibility, and to listen with so much attention and candor to one 



140 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of the youngest of your fcllo-w-citizcns, whose youth and inability 
plead powerfully against him, while the annual tribute is paid to the 
memory of those departed citizens who fell the first sacrifices to arbi- 
trary poAver 7 Check not such generous feelings. They are the fruits 
of virtue and humanity ; and, Avhile the obligations you remain under 
to those unhapp}'' men lead you to shed the sympathetic tear, to dwell 
with pleasure upon their memories, and execrate the causes of their 
death, remember that you can never repay them. Ever bear it in 
your minds, that so implicit was the confidence you willingly placed in 
that country that owed to you her afibction, that, notwithstanding the 
introduction of that inhuman weapon of tyrants into the very heart of 
your peaceful villages, you still would fain rely on their deceitful asser- 
tions, and paint the deformed monster to your imaginations as the min- 
ister of peace and protection. Men born in the bosom of liberty, 
living in the exercise of the social aifoctions in their full vigor, having 
once fixed them upon particular objects, they are not hastily eradi- 
cated. Unaccustomed to sport with and wantonly sacrifice these sensi- 
ble overflowings of the heart, to run the career of passion and blinded 
lust, to be familiar with vice and sneer at virtue, to surprise innocence 
by deceitful cunning, and assume the shade of friendship to conceal 
the greater enmity, you could not at once realize the fixed, the delib- 
erate intention of those from whom you expected freedom to load you 
with slavery and chains : — and not till insult repeated upon insult, — 
not till oppression stalked at noonday through every avenue in your 
cities, — nay, not till the blood of your peaceful brethren flowed 
through your streets, — was the envenomed serpent to be discovered 
in the bushes ; — not till a general trespass had been made upon the 
keenest feelings of human nature, and the widowed mother was sum- 
moned to entomb the cold remains of her affectionate son, the virtuous 
bosom to resign its tender partner, and social circles their nearest 
friends, could you possibly convince yourselves that you and Britain 
were to be friends no more. Thrice happy day ! the consequences of 
which have taught the sons of America that a proper exercise of pub- 
lic spirit and the love of virtue hath been able to surprise and baffle 
the most formidable and most powerful tyranny on earth.'' 

Jonathan Mason was an eminent counsellor at law, and a member 
of the State Legislature. In 1798 he was of the Governor's Council; 
in 1800 he was elected to the United States Senate, and in 1819 to the 
House in Congress, Avhen he voted for the Missouri Compromise. In 



THOMAS DAWES. 141 

his political relations he was a firm adherent of the federal party. 
He was distinguished for great energy of character and dignity of 
manners. In stature he was tall and erect. He died at Boston, 
November 1, 1831. Mr. Mason married Susanna, daughter of 
William Powell, April 13, 1779. Dr. John C. Warren married their 
daughter Susan in 1803, and Hon. David Sears married their 
daughter Miriam C. in 1809. An admirable portrait of Mr. Mason, 
by Gilbert Stuart, is in the family of Mr. Sears. 



THOMAS DAWES. 

MARCH 5, 1781. ON THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 

Thomas Dawes was a son of Col. Thomas Dawes, an eminent archi- 
tect, and patriot of the Revolution. He was born at Boston, July 8, 1758. 
He entered the Latin School in 1766, graduated at Harvard College 
in 1777, early entered the profession of law, and became an eminent 
counsellor. He married Margaret Greenleaf in 1781, and resided on 
the paternal estate in Purchase-street, a place famous in the Revolu- 
tion for private caucuses. He ever evinced a lively imagination, and 
natural thirst for polite literature. His witticisms are proverbial, 
and his patriotic and literary poetic effusions were highly popular. 
When about thirty years of age, he was appointed one of the associate 
justices of the Supreme Judicial Court of the State, which he filled until 
1803, when he became judge of the Municipal Court for Boston until 
1823. He was appointed judge of Probate for Sufiblk county, which 
station he occupied until his decease, July 22, 1825. Judge Dawes 
was a delegate to the State Convention of 1820 for revising the con- 
stitution. He was of very small stature, being not five feet in height, 
but rotund and fleshy round the waist. His face was florid and small, 
with expressive eyes. His hair was long and gray. His utterance 
was of a striking lisp, and his voice was soft and clear. He wore 
small-clothes and buckled shoes. When it was announced that Thomas 



142 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Dawes was appointed to the Supreme Court, Col. Hichborn, it is 
related, Aylio vras displeased, contemptuously said of him, "I could put 
liim into my pocket." Upon being informed of tliis, Judge Dawes 
promptly remarked, with great dignity and good-nature, "If he did 
pocket me, he would have had more law in liis pocket than he ever 
had in his head." On another occasion, standing among five other 
guests in a di-awing-room, just before dinner was announced, all of 
whom were tall or stouter than himself, — Gen. Arnold Welles, Col. 
Roulstone, Maj. Benjamin Russell, and others, — one of them jocosely 
asked him how he felt, being so small, and surrounded as he was by so 
many large men; to Avhom he promptly replied, " Like a silver six- 
penny piece among five copper cents, — much less in size than any one, 
but of more intrinsic value than all of them together." 

When the liberty -pole was erected on the spot where the Liberty 
Tree once flourished, opposite Frog-lane, Judge Dawes wrote as 

follows : 

" Of high renown here grew the tree, — 
The elm so dear'to liberty. 
Your sires, beneath its sacred shade. 
To Freedom early homage paid ; 
This day, with filial awe, surround 
Its root, that sanctifies the ground ; 
And, by your fathers' spirits, swear 
The rights they left you '11 not impair." 

" Do we not see the darkened spring of 1770," said Judge Dawes 
in his oration at the Old Brick, " like the moon in a thick atmosphere, 
rising in blood, and ushered in by the figure of Britain plunging her 
poignard in the young bosom of America? 0, our bleeding country ! 
was it for this our hoary sires sought thee through all the elements, 
and having found thee sheltering away from the western wave, discon- 
solate, cheered thy sad face, and decked thee out hke the garden of 
God 7 Time was when we could all affirm to this gloomy question, — 
when we were ready to cry out that our fatliers had done a vain thing. 
I mean upon that unnatural right which we now commemorate ; when 
the fire of Brutus was on many a heart, — when the strain of Gracchus 
was on many a tongue. ' Wretch that I am ! — whither shall I 
retreat 7 — whither shall I turn me ? — to the capitol ? The capitol 
swims in my brother's blood. To my family 1 There must I see a 
wretched, a mournful and afilicted mother.' Misery loves to brood 
over its own woes : and so peculiar were the woes of that night, so 



THOMAS DAWES. 143 

expressive the pictures of despair, so various tlie flice of deatli. 
that not all the grand tragedies which have been since acted can crowd 
from our minds that era of the human passions, that preface to the 
general conflict that now rages. May we never forget to offer a sac- 
rifice to the manes of our brethren who bled so early at the foot of Lib- 
erty. Hitherto we have nobly avenged their fall ; but as ages cannot 
expunge the debt, their melancholy ghosts still rise at a stated season, 
and will forever wander in the night of this noted anniversary. Let 
us, then, be frequent pilgrims at their tombs. There let us profit of 
all our feelings; and, while the senses are 'struck deep Avith woe.' 
give wing to the imagination. Hark ! even now, in the hollow wind, I 
hear the voice of the departed : ' ye who listen to wisdom, and aspire 
to immortahty, as ye have avenged our blood, thrice blessed ! as ye 
still war against the mighty hunters of the earth, your names are 
recorded in heaven ! ' 

" Such are the suggestions of fancy; and, having given them their 
due scope, — having described the memorable Fifth of March as a sea- 
son of disaster, — it would be an impiety not to consider it in its other 
relation ; for the rising honors of these States are distant issues, as 
it were, from the intricate though all-wise divinity which presided 
upon that night. Strike that night out of time, and we quench the 
first ardor of a resentment which has been ever since increasing, and 
now accelerates the fall of t_)Tanny. The provocations of that night 
must be numbered among the master springs which gave the first 
motion to a vast machinery, a noble and comprehensive system of 
national independence. 'The independence of America,' says the 
writer under the signature of ' Common Sense,' ' should have been 
considered as dating its era from the first musket that was fired against 
her.' Be it so ! but Massachusetts may certainly date many of its 
blessings from the Boston Massacre, — a dark hour in itself, but from 
which a marvellous light has arisen. From that night, revolution 
became inevitable, and the occasion commenced of the present most 
beautiful form of government. We often read of the original contract, 
and of mankind, in the early ages, passing from a state of nature to 
immediate civilization. But what eye could penetrate through Gothic 
night and barbarous fable to that remote period 1 Such an eye, per- 
haps, was present, when the Deity conceived the universe, and fixed his 
compass upon the great deep. And yet the people of Massachusetts 
have reduced to practice the wonderful theory. A numerous people 



144 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

have convened in a state of nature, and, like our ideas of the patriarchs, 
have deputed a few fathers of the land to draw up for them a glorious 
covenant. It has been drawn. The people have signed it with rap- 
ture, and have thereby bartered among themselves an easy degree of 
obedience for the highest possible civil happiness. To render that cov- 
enant eternal, patriotism and political virtue must forever blaze, — must 
blaze at the present day with superlative lustre, being watched, from 
different motives, by the eyes of all mankind. Nor must that patriot- 
ism be contracted to a single commonwealth. A combination of the 
States is requisite to support them individually. ' Unite, or die,' is our 
indispensable motto.'' 

Mr. Robert Patterson presented a petition to the town of Boston, 
on this day, March 5, 1781, setting forth that he received a wound in 
the right arm, on the 5th of March, 1770, by a shot from Preston's 
party, whereby he has entirely lost the use of it ; and that, since the 
death of Mr. INIonk, he is the only one of the unhappy number, then 
badly wounded, that survives ; and therefore praying the charity of the 
town; — "voted, that a collection be made, at the close of this meeting, 
for the unhappy sufferer." Boxes we-re placed at each door of the Old 
Brick Meeting-house, to receive the contributions ; and also on the two 
years succeeding. 

"VVe cannot resist the insertion of Judge Dawes' patriotic effusion, 
repeated to the editor from memory, by Thomas Somes, a merchant of 
Boston, and a nephew of the judge, one day in the street, when stand- 
ing nearly opposite the Athenoeum, and who died suddenly a few days 
after the recital. It was sung June 17, 1786, at the festival on the 
opening of Charlestown Bridge, after the announcement of this senti- 
ment : '• j\Iay this anniversary be forever marked with joy, as its birth 
was with glory." 

" Now let rich music sound, 
And all the region round 

With rapture fill ; 
Let the full trump of fame 
To heaven itself proclaim 
The everlasting name 

Of Bunker's Hill. 

' ' Beneath his sky-wi-apt brow 
"What heroes sleep below, — 
How dear to Jove ! 



THOMAS DAWES. 145 

Not more beloved were those 
Who foiled celestial foes 
When the old giants rose 
To arms above ! 

" Now scarce eleven short years 
Have rolled their rapid spheres 
Through heaven's high road, 
Since o'er yon swelling tide 
Passed all the British pride, 
And watei'ed Bunker's side 
With foreign blood. 

" Then Cliarlestown's gilded spires 
Felt uni'elenting fires, 
And sunk in night ; 
But, phoenix-like, they '11 rise 
From where their ruin lies. 
And strike the astonished eyes 
With glories bright. 

" Meandering to the deep, 
Majestic Charles shall weep 

Of war no more. 
Famed as the Appian Way, 
The world's first bridge, to-day 
All nations shall convey 

From shore to shore. 

" On our blessed mountain's head 
The festive-board we '11 spread 
With viands high ; 
, Let joy's broad bowl go round, 
With public spirit crowned ; 
We '11 consecrate the ground 
To Liberty." 

"When Judge Dawes was a delegate in the State Convention of 
1820, he made several speeches. On one occasion he remarked, the 
constitution was adopted just after he left the law office of one of its 
principal founders, and he had an opportunity of witnessing the anxiety 
of those who raised this bulwark of our liberties. Of the spirit of 
amity which prevailed in the convention of 1788, he could speak with 
confidence. He was one of the twelve gentlemen chosen from Boston 
to that convention, nine of whom have gone to render their account, 
and he must soon follow. Those gentlemen were obliged to change 
their minds, as light beamed upon them on the various subjects dis- 
13 



146 THE HUXDPvED BOSTON ORATORS. 

cussed. Even Samuel Adams, "who ■v^-as remarkable for tlie inflexibil- 
ity of his opinions, after hearing Fisher Ames' speech upon the bien- 
nial election of members of Congress, got up, — not to oppose, as was 
expected, but to tell us that he was satisfied with the reasons which 
had been given by Ames. This conduct, in such a man as INIr. Adams, 
had a great effect upon the other members of the convention. 

Mr. Dawes opposed a resolution directing the manner in which the 
votes on the amendments are to be given by the people, where the per- 
sons voting are to express their opinion by annexing to each number 
the word Yes, or No, or any other words that may signify his opinion 
of the proposed amendment. He thought this latitude might lead to 
difficulty. It would permit a man to read a whole sermon. They had 
often heard whole sermons read in the Assembly, — they might read 
them in town-meeting, and put them on file, to express their opinion. 
It was amended. Judge Dawes was a member also of the convention 
for the adoption of a State constitution in 1780. 

Thomas Dawes ahvays exhibited an honest and friendly feeling, 
which shone forth in his social intercourse, enlivened by classic and 
literary taste, undiminished by the assumption of measured maimer, 
too often exercised to supply the place of real merit. 



GEORGE RICHARDS MINOT. 

MARCH 5, 17S2. ON THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 

George Richards Minot was born at Boston, Dec. 22, 1758, and 
was the youngest of ten children. He entered the Latin School in 
1767, where he was a shining scholar. When the important period 
drew near in which he was to leave school, he was not only required 
by Master James Lovell to compose his own oration, but he was also 
enjoined to aid several of his classmates in the same duty. While at 
Harvard College he devoted himself with great industry and success to 
classical and historical studies. He graduated in 1778. His most 



GEORGE RICHARDS MINOT. 147 

admired models were Robertson's Charles the Fifth, and the London 
Annual Register. At his graduation he received the highest honors of 
the college, without an expression of envy from his classmates ; such 
is the force of superior merit towards the youth who loved every one, 
and who veiled his talent in the garb of modesty. IMr. Minot entered 
on the study of law under Judge Tudor, towards whom he had a 
warm veneration. It was in his office that he enjoyed the advantage 
of being the fellow-student of Fisher Ames, where his own genius 
caught fire from the flame which burned so intensely in the imagina- 
tion of his companion. Fisher Ames was at that time unknown to the 
world, but Minot never spoke of him without enthusiasm ; and he 
often predicted the splendid reputation which this powerful orator 
would in coming time attain. 

On the adoption of the State constitution, in 1780, Mr. Blinot was 
elected clerk of the House of Representatives. During this period, 
the causes which led to the insurrection of Daniel Shays were in opera- 
tion, and he had the opportunity of being femiliar with the debates, 
which were of intense public interest. This insurrection was a primary 
cause of the adoption of the constitution of the United States. Mr. 
Minot was appointed secretary of the State Convention of 1788, on 
the discussion of its adoption. Mr. Minot was married in March, 
1783, to Mary Speakman, of Marlboro', the lady of his early love, 
whose warmth of affection towards him was ardent as that of his 
towards herself. At this period he was a liberal contributor to the 
Boston Magazine, and was an editor of three early volumes of the 
Massachusetts Historical Collections, of which society, the Humane, 
the Charitable, and the American Academy, he was a devoted mem- 
ber. He was appointed judge of Probate in 1792, which office he 
honored with impartiality and humanity. He became judge of the 
Municipal Court from 1800, and wisely sustained its duties until his 
decease, Jan. 2, 1802. His residence was in Devonshire-street, on 
the site of the Type and Stereotype Foundery, and no private mansion 
in Boston was more famous for a free and generous hospitality. He 
was remarkable for sprightly sallies of wit, radiant benignity, and 
blandness of manners. In 1795 his address for the Massachusetts 
Charitable Society, of which he was president, was published. His 
impassioned eulogy on the character of Washington, pronounced at the 
request of the town of Boston, was ready for sale on the day after its 
delivery, and was more rapidly sought than even that by Fisher Ames, 



148 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS, 

an edition being sold in one day, and two more shortly after being 
taken up. His intimate friend and pastor, Dr. James Freeman, 
remarked of this eulogy, that a kindred likeness may be traced in the 
features of the minds, in Minot's delineations of the character of 
Washington, so striking as to be obvious to those who best knew them 
both. Judge Minot had but ten days' notice to prepare the funeral 
oration, and thus described the emotions of his mind at this time : 
•'My only refuge was in an enthusiastic pursuit of my subject, which 
stimulated what little powers I possessed to their utmost exertion. A 
candor and mild expectation prevailed through all ranks of people, 
which encouraged me. A like kind of attentive silence enabled me to 
deliver myself so as to be heard. I sat down unconscious of the effect, 
feeling as though the music was at once playing the dirge of Washing- 
ton's memory and my own reputation. I was soon astonished at my 
good fortune. All praised me ; a whole edition of my eulogy sold in 
a day; the printers. Manning and Loring, presented me with an addi- 
tional number of copies, on account of their success ; invitations were 
sent me to dine in respectable companies ; my friends are delighted, 
and, although nearly exhausted by sickness. I am happy. Such was 
the successful issue of the most unpropitious undertaking that I was 
ever engaged in." 

In 1798, Judge Minot published a Continuation of Hutchinson's 
History of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and the second volume 
in 1803. Our American Sallust is peculiar for veracity, perspicuity 
and vigor, and was the first purely elegant historian of New England. 
His History of the Insurrection in Massachusetts, and the Rebellion 

consequent thereon, published by Manning and Loring, in 1798, , 

is the best record of that perilous period ever prepared. 

In the polished oration of George Richards Minot, pronounced at the 
Old Brick, on the Boston Massacre, in 1782, we find an appeal to the 
moral sense of this republic, where he remarks : 

" Let us not trust to laws. An uncorrupted people can exist with- 
out them ; a corrupted people cannot long exist with them, or any other 
human assistance. They are remedies which, at best, always disclose 
and confess our evils. The body politic once distempered, they may 
indeed be used as a crutch to support it a while, but they can never 
heal it. Rome, when her bravery conquered the neighboring nations 
and united them to her own empire, was free from all danger within, 
because her armies, being urged on by a love for their country, would 



GEORGE RICHARDS MINOT. 149 

as readily suppress an internal as an external enemy. In tliose times 
she made no scruple to throw out her kings who had abused their 
power. But when her subjects sought not for the advantage of the 
commonwealth, — when they thronged to the Asiatic wars for the spoils 
they produced, and preferred prostituting the rights of citizenship upon 
any barbarian that demanded them, to meeting him in the field for their 
support, — then Rome grew too modest to accept from the hands of a 
dictator those rights which she ought to have impaled him for daring 
to invade. No alteration in her laws merely could have effected this. 
Had she remained virtuous, she might as well have expelled her 
dictators as her kings. But what laws can save a people who, for 
the very purpose of enslaving themselves, choose to consider them 
rather as counsels which they may accept or refuse, than as precepts 
Avhich they are bound to obey ? With such a people they must ever 
want a sanction, and be contemned. Virtue and long life seem to be 
as intimately allied in the political as in the moral world. She is the 
guard which Providence has set at the gate of freedom." 

Here we have the peroration of Minot's oration: "America once 
guarded against herself, what has she to fear ? Her natural situation 
may well inspire her with confidence. Her rocks and her mountains 
are the chosen temples of hbcrty. The extent of her climate, and the 
variety of its produce, throw the means of her greatness into her own 
hands, and insure her the traffic of the world. Navies shall launch 
from her forests, and her bosom be found stored with the most precious 
treasures of nature. May the industry of her people be a still surer 
pledge of her wealth ! The union of her States, too, is founded upon 
the most durable principles. The similarity of the manners, religion 
and laws, of their inhabitants, must ever support the measure which 
their common injuries originated. Her government, while it is 
restrained from violating the rights of the subject, is not disarmed 
against the public foe. Could Junius Brutus and his colleagues have 
beheld her republic erecting itself on the disjointed neck of tyranny, 
how would they have wreathed a laurel for her temples as eternal as 
their own memories ! America ! fairest copy of such great originals ! 
be virtuous, and thy reign shall be as happy as durable, and as dura- 
ble as the pillars of the world you have enfranchised." 

The character of Judge Minot was thus admirably described by Hon. 
John Quincy Adams, on the year of his decease : 

"Are you an observer of men, and has it been your fortune only 
13* 



150 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

once to behold George Richards Minot? You have remarked the ele- 
gance of his person, and the peculiar charm of expression in his coun- 
tenance. Have you witnessed his deportment? It bore the marks of 
graceful simplicity, of dignified modesty, of unassuming urbanity. 
Have you listened to his conversation 7 It was the voice of harmony ; 
it was the index of a penetrating and accurate mind ; it was the echo 
to a warm and generous heart. Such appeared INIr. Minot on a first 
and transient acquaintance, from which period to that of the most con- 
fidential intimacy, our own knowledge, and the unvaried testimony of 
indisputable authority, concur in affirming that every trace of pleas- 
ing first impression was proportionably deepened, every anticipation of 
sterling worth abundantly fulfilled. His character, as the citizen of a 
free country, was not less exemplary. The profoundest historian of 
antiquity has adduced the life of Agricola as an extraordinary proof 
that it is possible to be a great and good man, even under the despot- 
ism of the worst of princes. 

'' Minot's example may be alleged as a demonstration equally rare, 
under a free republic, that, in times of the greatest dissensions, and 
amidst the most virulent rancor of factions, a man may be great 
and good, and yet acquire and preserve the esteem and veneration of 
all. In the bitterness of civil contention he enjoyed the joint applause 
of minds the most irreconciled to each other. Before the music of his 
character, the very scorpions dropped from the lash of discord, — the 
very snakes of faction listened and sunk asleep ! Yet did he not pur- 
chase this unanimous approbation by the sacrifice of any principle at 
the shrine of popularity. From that double-tongued candor which 
fashions its doctrines to its company, — from that cowardice, in the 
garb of good-nature, which assents to all opinions because it dares sup- 
port none, — from that obsequious egotism, ever ready to boAv before 
the idol of the day, to make man its God, and hold the voice of mortal- 
ity for the voice of Heaven, — he was pure as the crystal streams. 
Personal invectives and odious imputations against political adversaries 
he knew to be seldom necessary. He knew that, when unnecessary, 
whether exhibited in the disgusting deformity of their nakedness, or 
tricked out in the gorgeous decorations of philosophy, — Avhether hvid 
with the cadaverous colors of their natural complexion, or flaring with 
the cosmetic Avashes of pretended patriotism, — they are ever found 
among the profligate prostitutes of party, and not among the vestal vir- 
gins of truth. He disdained to use them ; but, as to all great ques- 



GEORGE RICHARDS MINOT. 151 

tions upon principle, wliich are at the bottom of our divisions, there 
was no more concealment or disguise in his lips than hesitation or 
wavering in his mind. So far was he from courting the prejudices or 
compromising with the claims of faction, that he published the History 
of the Insurrection in the commonwealth, at a time when the passions 
which had produced them were still rancorous and flourishing ; and 
although nothing contributed more than that work to consign the rebel- 
lion it recorded to infamy, none of its numerous abettors ever raised a 
reclamation against the veracity of the history, or the worth of the 
historian." 

In Democracy Unveiled, canto 3, on Mobocracy, by Christopher 
Caustic, appears a happy allusion to George Richards Minot, as fol- 
lows : 

" But I '11 purloin a little — why not ? 
From classic history of Minot ; 
For theft can need no other plea 
Than this — our government is fi'ee ! 
Our Demo's steal each other's trash. 
While Coleman plies in vain the lash. 
And prithee, therefore, why can I not 
Steal my Mobocracy from Minot ? 
Fas est ab hoste doceri, — 
If that be true, why then 't is clear I. 
But, gentle reader, have you read it ? 
' Yes,' — then I '11 give my author credit." 

The nature and operation of the causes which led to the rebellion in 
Massachusetts, says Caustic, in a note to Mobocracy, are explained in 
a lucid and masterly manner, in the history of George Richards Minot, 
the style of which might rank its author as the Sallust of America. 
According to that writer, the commonwealth of Massachusetts was in 
debt upwards of XI, 350, 000 private State debt, exclusive of the fed- 
eral debt, which amounted to one million and a half of the same money. 
And, in addition to that, every town was embarrassed by advances they 
had made to comply with repeated requisitions for men and supplies to 
support the army, and which had been done upon their own credit. 
The people, Minot informs us, had been laudably employed, during the 
nine years in which this debt had been accumulating, in the defence of 
their liberties ; but though their contest had instructed them in the 
nobler science of mankind, yet it gave them no proportionable insight 
into the mazes of finance. Their honest prejudices were averse to duties 



152 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of impost and excise, which were at that time supposed to be anti-repub- 
lican by many judicious and influential characters. The consequences 
of the public debt did not at first appear among the citizens at large. 
The bulk of mankind are too much engaged in private concerns to 
anticipate the operation of national causes. The men of landed inter- 
est soon began to speak plainly against trade, as the source of luxury, 
and the cause of losing the circulating medium. Commercial men. 
on the other hand, defended themselves by insisting that the fault was 
only in the regulations which the trade happened to be under. INIinot 
then proceeds to point out other causes which contributed to lead the 
people astray ; and his history exhibits abundant proof that the people 
at largo are not always correct judges of what political measures may 
best subserve their own prosperity. 

" To paint the ills whicli power attend, 
Our men of mind their talents lend ; 
But overlook the great propriety 
Of power to guarantee society." 

The following effusion was addressed to the Hon. George Richards 
Minot, when he was preparing the History of Massachusetts : 

" Let jarring spii'its turn the leaf. 

And Coke and Littleton explore ; 
Pleased with the logic of a brief. 

And wise with metaphysic lore. 
Let others on the laws decide, 

And on the Norman records grope ; 
Lay thou the wrangling bar aside. 

And give thy genius ampler scope. 
Thy equal mind, on truth intent. 

To paltry strife must not descend ; 
Another task for thee is meant, — 

Thj^ country's genius to defend. 
What though that country's tardy voice 

Nor urge thy labor nor reward ? 
The historic Muse approves the choice. 

And all the wise and good applaud. 
Ere laurelled science twine the wi-eath, 

The bud of genius must unfold ; 
Our hardy sires, the snow beneath, 

Grew strong, unmindful of the cold. 
Mark'st thou yon river's peopled shore. 

Its wheat-crowned hills, its bleating meads, 
Taught through delicious banks to pour, 

Where not a stone its course impedes ? 



GEORGE RICHARDS MINOT. 153 

Mark'st thou, too, the industrious sires 
• Who cleared the current, crowned the hills ? 

"What love and gratitude inspires 

One sweet memorial of thy skill ? 
Yet more than if the castle told 

' Some wily victor ravaged here. 
Your sires to vassalage he sold. 

Or scourged, the pyramid to rear.' 
For where no crowning castles found. 

No despotism has been known ; 
The honest peasant reaps the ground 

By free-born fathers tamed and sown. 
Short is the tale of tyrant power, — 

Easy the story of its reign, — 
Whose march was destined to devour, 

Whose glory, to recount the slain. 
But the slow progress of a tribe 

By nature's energies alone 
Cool reason only can describe, 

Ere the first principles have flowu. 
Yet, lo ! with careless ease we sleep. 
While rapid sweeps unstable time 
Disgorgeless to oblivion's deep. 

The i-ecords of a nation's prime. 

While to hoar winter's snowy wells. 

Ridged by eternal frost and hail. 

When spring the laughing current swells. 

And cheers, swift Merrimac, thy vale ; 

Urged as the vernal streams descend. 

Exciting wonder as they flow, 
Some ardent minds their source ascend. 

And meet the untravelled realms of snow 
Shall, from a counti-y's wasting page, 

Which moth and rust and reason maim, 
Ere darkened by a crowding age, 

None snatch the unmutilated name ? 
Yes, ere the fabled tale is wrought. 

While yet the features are imprest. 
Shall thy discriminating thought 
Portray the Pilgrims of the West." 

"The series of events," says Washington to Minot, " which followed from the con- 
clusion of the war, forms a link of no ordinary magnitude in the chain of the American 
annals. That portion of domestic history which you have selected for your narrative 
deserved particularly to be discussed, and set in its proper point of light, while mate- 
rials for the purpose were attainable. Nor was it unbecoming or unimportant to 
enlighten the Europeans, who seem to have been extremely ignorant with regard to 
these transactions. While I comprehend fully the difificulty of stating facts on the 
spot, amidst the living actors and recent animosities, I approve the more cordially 
that candor with which you appear to have done it." 



154 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

THOMAS WELSH, M. D. 

MARCH 5, 1783. ON THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 

Thomas Welsh was born at Charlestown, June 1, 1754, and mar- 
ried Mary Kent, of that town. He was an army-surgeon at Lex- 
ington and Bunker Hill. He was in attendance at the latter battle, 
principally at a house under the western side of the hill, in company 
with Lieut. Col. Brickett, a physician, who came off with the first of 
the wounded, and of whom Gen. Warren obtained his arms for the battle. 
Dr. Welsh Avas afterwards near AVinter Hill, by which route the troops 
who went to Cambridge retreated. Dr. Welsh and Samuel Blodgett 
assisted in arresting the retreat of the New Hampshire troops. On 
the morning of the Battle of Lexington, Dr. Warren, at about ten 
o'clock, rode on horseback through Charlestown, says Frothingham. 
He had received, by express, intelhgence of the events of the morn- 
ing, and told the citizens of Charlestown that the news of the firing 
was correct. Among others, he met Dr. Welsh, who said, "Well, 
they are gone out." " Yes," replied the doctor, " and we will be up 
with them before night." 

Dr. Welsh, who was on Prospect Hill when the British were pass- 
ing from Lexington, saw Col. Pickering's regiment on the top of Win- 
ter Hill, near the front of Mr. Adams' house, the enemy being very 
near in Charlestown road. Washington wrote of this period : "If the 
retreat had not been as precipitate as it was from Lexington, — and 
God knows it could not well have been more so, — the ministerial 
troops must have surrendered, or been totally cut off; for they had 
not arrived in Charlestown (under cover of their ships) half an hour, 
before a powerful body of men from Marblehead and Salem Avere at 
their heels, and must, if they had happened to be up one hour sooner, 
inevitably have intercepted their retreat from Charlestown." Dr. 
Welsh was surgeon at Castle Island, 1799. He was the hospital phy- 
sician at Rainsford's Island for many years ; was member of the Bos- 
ton Board of Health, and vice-president of the ]\Iassachusetts I\Iedi- 
cal Society, in 1814 ; was a member of the American Academy of 
Arts and Sciences. Dr. Welsh was a decided Whig of the Revolution, 
an amiable, social, and estimable citizen, and died at Boston, Febru- 
ary, 1831. He graduated at Harvard College in 1772. 



THOMAS WELSH, M. D. 155 

The patriotic Dr. Welsh, the last of the orators at the Old Brick, 
on the eventful Boston Massacre, thus remarks in the peroration : 
" When we consider our own prosperous condition, and view the state 
of that nation of which we were once a part, we even weep over our 
enemy, when we reflect that she was once great; that her navies rode 
formidable upon the ocean ; that her commerce was extended to every 
harbor of the globe; that her name Avas revered wherever it was 
known ; that the wealth of nations was deposited in her island ; and 
that America was her friend. But, by means of standing armies, an_ 
immense continent is separated from her kingdom. Near eight full 
years have now rolled aAvay since America has been cast off from the 
bosom and embraces of her pretended parent, and has set up her own 
name among the empires. The assertions of so young a country were 
at first beheld with dubious expectation ; and the world were ready to 
stamp the name of rashness, or enterprise, according to the event. But 
a manly and fortunate beginning soon insured the most generous assist- 
ance. The renowned and the ancient Gauls came early to the combat, 
— wise in council, mighty in battle ! Then with new fury raged the 
storm of war ! The seas were crimsoned with the richest blood of 
nations ! America's chosen legions waded to freedom through rivers 
dyed with the mingled blood of her enemies and her citizens, — through 
fields of carnage, and the gates of death ! 

" At length, independence is ours ! — the halcyon day appears ! Lo ! 
from the east I see the harbinger, and from the train 't is peace her- 
self, — and, as attendants, all the gentle arts of life. Commerce dis- 
plays her snow-white navies, fraught with the wealth of kingdoms ; 
Plenty, from her copious horn, pours forth her richest gifts. Heaven 
commands ! The east and the west give up, and the north keeps not 
back. All nations meet, and beat their swords into ploughshares and 
their spears into pruning-hooks, and resolve to learn war no more. 
Henceforth shall the American wilderness blossom as the rose, and 
every man shall sit under his fig-tree, and none shall make him 
afraid." 



156 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. ^ 

JOHN WARREN, M. D. 

JULY 4, 1783. OX THE NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE. 

The last public act in the career of James Otis, that presiding genius 
of our colonial Revolution, occurred at a town-meeting of the inhabitants 
of Boston, INIarch 5, 1783, at Faneuil Hall, Avhen he officiated as moder- 
ator ; and it Avas voted to substitute the celebration of the Declaration of 
Independence for that of the Boston Massacre, after Dr. Thomas "Welsh 
had pronounced the annual oration on the latter occasion. Otis was 
struck out of existence by a flash of lightning, at Andover, in Massa- 
chusetts, on the 23d day of May succeeding. Who can tell but what 
this time-honored festival of liberty originated in his penetrative mind 7 
It may be said of Otis that his political career was as a poem that lights 
warm hearts with hving flame. How cheering was it to witness the 
eagle-eyed, round-faced, plump, short-necked, and smooth -skinned 
Otis, as he has been described by an enemy, at the head of the assem- 
bly in old Faneuil Hall on this glorious occasion ! 

William Cooper, the town-clerk, made the following motion : 
"Whereas, the annual celebration of the Boston Massacre, on the 
5th of March, 1770, by the institution of a public oration, has been 
found to be of eminent advantage to the cause of virtue and patriotism 
among her citizens ; and whereas, the immediate motives which induced 
the commemoration of that day do now no longer exist in their primi- 
tive force, while the benefits resulting from the institution may and 
ought ever to be preserved, by exchanging that anniversary for another, 
the foundation of which will last so long as time endures ; — it is there- 
fore resolved, that the celebration of the 5th of March from henceforth 
shall cease, and that instead thereof, the anniversary of the Fourth Day 
of July, 177G, — a day ever memorable in the annals of this country 
for the Declaration of Independence, — shall be constantly celebrated 
by the delivery of a public oration, in such place as the town shall 
determine to be most convenient for the purpose, — in which the orator 
shall consider the feelings, manners and principles, which led to this 
great national event, as well as the important and happy eflects, whether 
general or domestic, which have already, and will forever continue, to 
flow from this auspicious epoch." 

At a town-meeting on May of that date, Hon. Samuel Adams mod- 



JOHN WARREN, M. D. 157 

erator, the resolve was accepted, and a committee consisting of Perez 
Morton, William Tudor, Thomas Dawes, Joseph Barrell, and Charles 
Jarvis, were chosen to consider this matter at large, and report at 
the adjournment. At a town-meeting, July 4th inst., Hon. James 
Sullivan moderator, the committee announced that they had unani- 
mously made choice of Dr. John Warren to deliver an oration on the 
4th of July inst., who had accordingly accepted that service. They also 
voted that, as Fancuil Hall not being capacious enough to receive the 
inhabitants that may attend upon that occasion, it should be delivered 
at Dr. Cooper's church, as soon as the General Court is ended ; and that 
leave be requested of the committee of said church for the use of that 
building. 

According to Edes' Boston Gazette, that mirror of patriotism, the 
joy of the day was announced by the ringing of bells and discharge of 
cannon. At eleven o'clock. His Honor the Lieutenant-governor, Thomas 
Gushing, — His Excellency, John Hancock, being absent by reason of 
sickness, — the Hon. Council, the Senate and Representatives, escorted 
by the brigade train of artillery, commanded by Maj. Davis, repaired 
to the church in Brattle- street, where the Rev. Dr. Cooper, after a 
polite and elegant address to the auditory, returned thanks to Almighty 
God for his goodness to these American States, and the glory and suc- 
cess with which he had crowned their exertions ; then an anthem was 
sung suitable to the occasion, and the solemnity was concluded by a 
most ingenious and elegant oration, delivered by Dr. John Warren, at 
the request of the town. They were conducted back to the Senate- 
chamber, where an agreeable entertainment was provided. At two 
o'clock, the brigade train, and the regiment of militia, commanded by 
Col. Webb, paraded in State-street, where the former saluted with 
thirteen discharges from the field-pieces, and the militia with thirteen 
feu-de-joies^ in honor of the occasion. The officers of the militia dined 
together at the Bunch of Grapes and the brigade train at the E.Kchange 
taverns. Thirteen patriotic toasts were drunk by each corps, and the 
same number, which were given in the Senate-chamber, appear in the 
Gazette, one of which was, "May the spirit of union prevail in our 
country." On the next day the selectmen of the town, consisting of 
John Scollay, Harbottle Dorr, Thomas Greenough, Ezekiel Price, 
Capt. William Mackay, Tuthill Hubbard, Esq., David Je3"ries, Esq., 
requested a copy of the oration for the press. Here we have the 
modest reply of the author : 
14 



158 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Gentlemen, — On condition that the honesty of my intentions, and 
the warmth of my feelings, on the important event which -was the sub- 
ject of this oration, may be admitted to atone for the imperfection of 
the performance, I dehver a coj^y for the press. 
" I am, with the greatest respect, 

" Your obedient servant, 

"John Warren." 

This was a brilhant production, breathing patriotic ardor and fra- 
ternal warmth, of which we present a specimen : " Transported from 
a distant chme less friendly to its nurture, you have planted here the 
stately tree of Liberty, and lived to see it flourish. But whilst you 
pluck the fruit from the bending branches, remember that its roots 
were watered with your blood ! Remember the price at which you 
purchased it, nor barter liberty for gold. Go, search the vaults where 
lay enshrined the relics of your martyred fellow-citizens, and from 
their dust receive a lesson on the value of your freedom ! "When virtue 
fails, — when luxury and corruption shall undermine the pillars of the 
State, and threaten a total loss of liberty and patriotism, — then sol- 
emnly repair to those sacred repositories of the dead, and, if you can, 
return and sport away your rights. When you forget the value of 
your freedom, read over the history that recounts the wounds from 
which your country bled, — peruse the picture which brings back to 
your imaginations, in the lively colors of undisguised truth, the wild, 
distracted feelings of your hearts ! But if your happy lot has been 
not to have felt the pangs of convulsive separation from friend or 
kindred, learn them of those that have." 

The noble remark of John Adams, the apostle of liberty, in allu- 
sion to this great natal day, should be printed in capitals in every 
newspaper of our vast republic, on every anniversary of that event : 
"The 4th day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in 
the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated 
by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought 
to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts to God 
Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with 
shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one 
end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever- 
more." 

The attention of the Bostonians was involuntarily directed to the 



JOHN WARREN, M. D. 159 

brother of the hero of Bunker Hill, as we have seen, as the most suit- 
able person to deliver the first town oration on our national independ- 
ence. 

John Warren was born at Roxbury, July 27, 1753, and gradu- 
ated at Harvard College, 1771, where he was leader of a College Club 
for the study of anatomy. He was a student in medicine under his 
brother. Gen. Joseph Warren. In 1773 he established himself at 
Salem, and was associated with the famous Dr. Holyoke. On the 
19th of April, 1775, the regiment of that town marched to Lexington. 
and Dr. Warren acted as their surgeon. Two of his brothers were in 
that scene of contest. " The life which has been devoted to the public 
good," said Dr. Warren, in a eulogy on Thomas Russell, " must be an 
interesting theme of historical narration ; because scarcely any events 
can take place, in the course of such a life, but what must derive dig- 
nity and importance from the character which it sustains," — and this 
may be suitably said of John Warren. We will continue his history 
in the language of his own journal, dated June 17, 1775 : " This 
day, — a day ever to be remembered by the United American Colonies. 
— at about four o'clock in the afternoon, I was alarmed with the inces- 
sant report of cannon, which appeared to be at or near Boston. Towards 
sun-setting a very great fire was discovered, nearly in a direction from 
Salem for Boston; at the beginning of the evening, news arrived 
that a smart engagement had happened in the afternoon on Bunker 
Hill, in Charlestown, between the king's regular troops and the pro- 
vincials ; and, soon after, we received intelligence our own troops 
were repulsed with gi-eat loss, and the enemy had taken possession of 
the ground which we had broke the night before. I was very anxious, 
as I was informed that great numbers had fallen on both sides, and 
that my brother was in all probability in the engagement. I, however, 
went home, with a determination to take a few hours' sleep, and then 
to go immediately for Cambridge with my arms. Accordingly, in the 
morning, at about two o'clock, I prepared myself, and went off on 
horseback ; and when I arrived at INIedford, received the melancholy 
and distressing tidings that my brother was missing. Upon the dread- 
ful intelligence, I went immediately to Cambridge, and inquired of 
almost every person I saw whether they could give me any informa- 
tion of him. Some told me that he was undoubtedly alive and well, 
others that he was wounded, and others that he fell on the field. Thus 
perplexed almost to distraction, I went on, inquiring with a sohcitude 



160 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

■which was such a mixture of hope and fear as none but such as have 
felt it can form any conception. In this manner I passed several days, 
every day's information diminishing the probability of his safety. 

"0, ye blood-thirsty Avretches, who planned this dreadful scene 
which you are now forcing your bloodhounds to execute ! Did you but 
feel the pangs of heartfelt, pungent grief for the cruel wounds you 
inflicted upon the tenderest part of the pubhc, as well as individuals, 
you would have execrated those diabolical measures which by your 
counsels have been adopted, and precipitated us into all the horrors of 
a civil war. Unfeehng wretches ! reflect, a moment, if you have still 
one feature of humanity which is still unobliterated from your minds, 
and view the helpless orphan bereft of its fond and only parent, stript 
of every comfort of life, driven into an inhospitable wild, and exposed 
to all the misery which are the results of your brutal violence, and 
forbear, if you can ; but I defy even you to show yourselves so refined 
in your darling acts of cruelty as to be capable of supporting the 
shocking reflection. Here stay your hands, ye miscreants ! stay your 
bloody hands, still warmed with the purple fluid, and ask yourselves if 
you are not sated with the inhuman carnage — your hearts long since 
inured to view these shocking scenes without emotion ! Go on, then, 
ye dastard butchers ! let desolation and destruction mark your bloody 
steps wherever your brave opposers are by fortune destitute of proper 
arms for their defence ; but give up forever your pretensions to honor, 
justice or humanity, and know that this brave, undaunted and oppressed 
people, have an arm which will soon be exerted to defend themselves, 
their wives and children, — an arm which will ere long inflict such 
vengeance on their haughty, presumptuous foes, as shall convince them 
they are determined that British cowards, though their number be as 
the sands on the sea-shore, shall never subjugate the brave and inno- 
cent inhabitants of the American continent. Cover your heads with 
shame, ye guilty wretches ! Go home, and tell your blood-thirsty mas- 
ter your pitiful tale ; and tell him, too, that the laurel which once dec- 
orated the soldier has withered on the brow, upon the American shore ! 
Tell him that the British honor and fame have received a mortal stab 
from the brave conduct of the Americans. Tell him tliat even your 
conquests have but served to inspire the sufferers with fresh courage 
and determined resolution ; and let him know that since that accursed 
day Avhen first the hostile forces of Britain planted their foot on the 
American shore, your conduct has been such as has resulted in a con- 



JOHN AYARREN, M. D. 161 

tinued series of disgraceful incidents, -weak councils, and operations 
replete "with ignorance and folly. Tell liim this, ye contemptible cow- 
ards ! hide yourselves like menial slaves in your master's kitchens, nor 
dare approach the happy asylum of once extinct liberty, — for if ye 
dare, ye die ! 

" It appears that about 2500 men were sent off from the ministerial 
in Boston to dispossess a number, — about 700 of our troops, — who 
had, in the course of the night, cast up a small breastwork upon the 
hill. They accordingly attacked them, and, after having retreated 
three times, carried their point ; upon which our men retreated with 
precipitation, having lost about 200 dead and 300 wounded ; the ene- 
my, according to Gage's account, 1025 killed and Avounded, amongst 
whom were a considerable proportion of officers, Lieut. Col. Abercrom- 
bie, Maj. Pitcairn, etc., — a dear purchase to them, indeed." 

" Look back, ye Lonoreil veterans few. 
Whose locks are thin, of silver hue. 
That ran, at war's loud piercing thi-ill, 
To Lexington and Bunker's Hill ! 
When Charlestown's flame in pillars rose, 
Caused by our cruel British foes. 
Midst thundering cannon, blood and fire, 
You saw Lord Percy's host expire ! 
With faltering tongue, you yet can tell 
AVhere some dear friend or brother fell ; 
With palsied limbs, and glimmering eyes, 
Point to the place where AVarren lies ! ' ' 

Dr. John Warren had a portion of the care of administering to the 
wounded in the Battle of Bunker Hill, and Avas appointed hospital- 
surgeon by Washington, during the siege of Boston ; and he Avas one 
of the detachment ordered to take possession of Boston, on its evacua- 
tion by the British troops. We will present the statement of Dr. War- 
ren regarding the condition of the toAvn on the day of its evacuation, 
as the relation is too interesting to be dispensed Avith, and the most 
authentic statement extant : 

^^ March 17, 1776. — ^This morning, all the soldiers belonging to 
Bunker Hill were seen marching tOAA'ards the ferry ; soon after Avhich, 
tAYO men went upon the hill, and finding the posts entirely deserted by 
the enemy, gave a signal, upon Avhich a body of our forces Avent on 
and took possession of CharlestoAvn. At the same time, two or three 
thousand men were paraded at the boats in Cambridge, for the purpose 
14* 



162 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of going to Boston, if there should appear any probability of opposition 
from the regulars. The boats carried the men to Sewall's Point, 
•where thej landed ; and, upon intelligence being received, from the 
selectmen -who had come out of town, that all the troops had left, only 
a small body of men, -who had recovered of the small-pox, were selected 
from several regiments to take possession of the heights in town. Being 
one of the party, by permit from the general, I had an opportunity of 
seeing everything just as it was left, about two hours before, by the 
enemy. Two redoubts in the neighborhood of Mount AVhoredom 
appeared to me to be considerably strong. There were two or three 
half moons at the hill, upon the bottom of the Common, for small 
arms, and there were no ambrosiers at the redoubt above mentioned. 
Just by the shore, opposite Lechmere's Point, is a bomb-battery lined 
with plank, and faced with a parapet of horse-dung, being nothing but 
a simple line ; near it lies a thirteen-inch mortar, a little moved from 
its bed. This is an exceeding fine piece, being, as I am sure, seven 
and a half inches thick at the muzzle, and near twice that over the 
chamber, with an iron bed all cast as one piece, the touch-hole all 
spiked up, and shot drove into the bores ; there was only a simple line, 
being plank filled with dirt. Upon Beacon Hill were scarcely more 
than the fortifications of nature, — a very insignificant shallow ditch, 
with a few short pickets, a platform, and one twenty-four-pounder, which 
could not be brought to bear upon any part of the hill. This was left 
spiked up, and the bore crammed. On Copp's Hill, at the north, was 
nothing more than a few barrels, filled with dirt, to form parapets. 
Three twenty-four-pounders, upon a platform, were left spiked and 
crammed ; all these, as well as the others, on carriages. The parapet 
in this fort and Beacon Hill did not at all cover the men who should 
work the cannon. There was a small redoubt behind, for small arms, 
very slender indeed. On Fort Hill were only five lines of barrels 
filled with earth, — very trifling indeed. Upon the Neck the works were 
strong, consisting of redoubts, number of lines with ambrosier for can- 
non, a few of which were left as the others. A very strong work at 
the old Fortification, and another near the Haymarket. All these were 
ditched and picketed. On Hatch's Wharf was a battery of rafters 
with dirt, and two twelve-pounders left as the others ; one of these I 
saw drilled out and cleared for use, without damage. 

"A great number of other cannon were left at the north and south 
batteries, with one or both trunnions beat ofi". Shot and shells were in 



JOHN WARREN, M. D. 163 

divers parts of the town. Some cartridges, great quantities of wheat, 
hay, oil, medicine, horses, and other articles to the amount of a great 
sum. The houses I found to be considerably abused inside, where they 
had been inhabited by the common soldiery, but the external parts of 
the houses made a tolerable appearance. The streets were clean, and, 
upon the whole, the town looks much better than I expected. Sev- 
eral hundreds of houses were pulled down, but these were very old 
ones. The inhabitants in general appeared to rejoice at our success, 
but a considerable number of Tories have tarried in the town to throw 
themselves upon the mercy of the people ; the others are aboard with 
the shipping, all of which now lay before the Castle. They appear to 
have gone off in a hurry. In consequence of our having, the night 
before, erected a fort upon Nook Hill, which was very near the town, 
some cannon were fired from their hnes, even this morning, to the 
Point. 

" We now learn certainly that there was an intention, in consequence 
of a court-martial held upon the occasion of our taking possession of 
Dorchester Hills, to make an attack ; and three thousand men, under 
command of Lord Percy, went to the Castle for the purpose. It was 
the intention to have attacked us, at the same time, at Roxbury hnes. 
It appears that Gen. Howe had been very careful to prevent his men 
from committing depredations ; that he, with other ofBcers, had an 
high opinion of Gen. Washington, — of the army in general, — much 
higher than formerly. Lord Percy said he never knew us do a foolish 
action yet, and therefore he believed Ave would not induce them to burn 
the town by firing upon their fleet. They say they shall come back 
again soon. The small-pox is in about ten or a dozen places in town- 

'■'■March 20. — This evening they burn the Castle, and demolish, by 
blowing up, all the fortifications there ; they leave not a building stand- 
ing." 

Before parting with this treasure, we will give Dr. Warren's visit 
to Charlestown and Bunker Hill, with his reflections on the event, 
inspiring sensations not less thrilling than a view of the battle-field of 
Waterloo, where Napoleon met his last great defeat : 

^'March 21. — Our men go upon the Castle, and soon begin to erect 
new fortresses, as they had begun, a day or two before, on Fort Hill ; 
and the fleet all fall down into Nantasket Road. The winds have been 
fair for them to sail, but their not embracing the opportunity favors a 
suspicion of some intended attack. It seems, indeed, very improbable 



164 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

that they will be willing to leave us in so disgraceful manner as this. 
It is very surprising that they should not burn the town, when they 
had it entirely in their power to do it. The soldiers, it appears, were 
much dissatisfied at being obliged to leave the town without glutting 
their revengeful tempers with the blood of the Yankees. 

" This day I visit Charlestown, and a most melancholy heap of ruins 
it is. Scarcely the vestiges of those beautiful buildings remain, to dis- 
tinguish them from the mean cottages. The hill which was the theatre 
upon which the bloody tragedy of the 17th of June was acted com- 
mands the most affecting view I ever saw in my life. The walls of 
magnificent buildings, tottering to the earth, below ; above, a great num- 
ber of rude hillocks, under which are deposited the remains of clusters 
of those deathless heroes who fell in the field of battle. The scene 
was inexpressibly solemn. When I considered myself as walking over 
the bones of many of my worthy fellow-countrymen, who jeoparded 
and sacrificed their lives in these high places, — when I considered that 
perhaps, whilst I was musing over the objects around me, I might be 
standing over the remains of a dear brother, whose blood has stained 
these hallowed walks, — with veneration did this inspire me. How many 
endearing scenes of fraternal friendship, now past and gone forever, pre- 
sented themselves to my view I But it is enough ; the blood of the inno- 
cent calls for vengeance on the guilty heads of the vile assassins. 0, 
may our arms be strengthened to fight the battles of our God ! When 
I came to Bunker Hill, I found it exceeding strong ; the front parapet, 
about thirteen feet high from the bottom of the trench, composed of 
earth, containing plank supported by huge timber, Avith two look-outs 
upon the top. In the front of this were two bastions, and a semi- 
circular line with very wide trenches, and very long picket as well as 
trenches. Within, the causeway was secured with a hedge and brush. 
All that part of the main fort which was not included within the high 
works above-mentioned, — namely, the rear. — was secured by another 
parapet, with a trench picketed inside as well as out. 

"There was a half-moon which commanded the river at the side. 
There was, moreover, a block-house upon Schoolhouse Hill, enclosed by 
a very strong fence spiked, and a dungeon and block-house upon Breed's 
Hill, enclosed in a redoubt of earth, with trenches and pickets ; the 
works which had been cast up by our forces had been entirely lev- 
elled." 

In Dr. Warren's manuscript we find a beautiful and patriotic tribute 



JOHN WARREN, M. D. 165 

to Gen. Montgomeiy: ''This brave man was determined either to 
take Quebec or lose his life. He accordingly died nobly on the field. 
His course of victory was short, rapid, and uninterrupted, but truly 
great and glorious. He has, in his conquest, behaved like the hero 
and like the patriot. 0, America! thy land is watering with the 
blood of thy richest sons. Every drop calls for vengeance upon the 
infamous administratiO|Q which authorized this unnatural butchery. 
God grant that, in this great man's stead, and for that of every hero 
who perishes in the noble struggle, double the number may rise up ! 
Peace to his beloved shade ! The tears of a grateful country shall flow 
copiously whilst they lament your death. Ten thousand ministers of 
glory shall keep vigils around the sleeping dust of the invincible war- 
rior, whilst the precious remains shall be the resort of every true 
patriot in every future age ; and whilst the truly good and great shall 
approach the place sacred with the dust of the hero, they shall point 
to the little hillock, and say. There rests the great Montgomery, who 
bravely conquered the enemies to freedom in this province ; who, with 
utmost rapidity, with his all-conquering arms, reduced no less than 
three strong fortresses, and bravely died in the noble attempt to take 
possession of the strongest garrison upon the whole continent of Amer- 
ica. He died, it is true, and in dying became invincible." 
, Dr. Warren was in the disastrous action on Long Island. He was 
in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, and narrowly escaped captiv- 
ity. In 1777 he was appointed superintending surgeon of the military 
hospitals in Boston, which he occupied until the peace. Dr. Warren 
married Abigail, daughter of Gov. John Collins, of Newport, R. I., 
Nov. 2, 1777, by whom he had five sons and four daughters. His 
eldest son, John Collins, the Astley Cooper of New England, has long 
been the most eminent surgeon in Massachusetts, whose son, Jonathan 
Mason, is destined to be as elevated in surgery as his fathers. 

In the year 1780, according to Thacher, a contemporary, Dr. War- 
ren gave a course of dissections to his colleagues, with great success, in 
connection with a series of lectures, in the Military Hospital, situated 
in a pasture in the rear of the present Massachusetts General Hos- 
pital, at the corner of Milton and Spring streets. They were con- 
ducted with the greatest secrecy, owing to the popular prejudice 
against dissections. In 1781, his lectures, given at the same place, 
became public, when the students of Harvard College were permitted 
to attend; and at this time he performed the amputation at the 



166 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

shoulder-joint, Avith complete success. The third course was given in 
the year 1782, at the Molineux House, located on Beacon-street, oppo- 
site the north side of the State-house. This, or a preceding course, 
was delivered at the request of the Boston Medical Society, when Har- 
vard students attended. 

Dr. Warren was founder of the medical institution of Harvard Uni- 
versity, arising from these lectures ; and, on the request of President 
Willard, originated the plan for the present medical institution, which was 
organized in the year 1783, when three professors were inducted. Dr. 
Warren was at that time appointed Professor of Anatomy and Surgery, 
and efficiently performed the duties of that station until his decease. 
In the year 180G, Dr. John C. Warren, his son, was appointed adjunct 
professor on the same foundation, and continued in the discharge of 
the office during the period of forty years. Many a student, to the 
last day of life, has heartily responded to the fervent tribute of Susanna 
Rowson, to the memory of Dr. John Warren, which may be apphed 
to the son with like effect : 

" How sweet was tlie voice that instructed our youth ! 
What wisdom, what science, that voice could imj^art ! 
How bright was that face, where the radiance of truth 
Beamed over each feature direct from the heart ! ' ' 

In 1784, he established the small-pox hospital, at Point Shirley. 
In 1804, he was elected President of the Massachusetts Medical Soci- 
ety, and was ever viewed as the Magnus Apollo, the life and soul, 
of that institution. He was president, also, of the Massachusetts 
Humane, Massachusetts Agricultural, and the Massachusetts Medical 
societies, of the last of which he was an originator, in 1783. 

Dr. Warren was of middling stature ; an elevated forehead, black 
eyes, aquiline nose, and hair retreating from the forehead, gave an air 
of dignity to his polished manners, inspired by intercourse with officers 
from France. As a lecturer, his voice was most harmoniously sono- 
rous, his utterance distinct and full, and his language perspicuous. His 
perception was quick and acute, his imagination lively and strong, his 
actions prompt and decided. The rapidity in all his intellectual oper- 
ations constituted a very striking trait in his character. Dr. Warren 
died April 4, 1815, at his residence in School-street, of an inflamma- 
tion of the lungs, in connection Avith an organic disease which had long 



BENJAMIN HIGHBORN. 167 

affected his system. His remains are deposited under St. Paul's 
Church, beside those of his brother, Gen. Joseph Warren. 

In 1782, Dr. Warren delivered a Charge to the Masons, on the fes- 
tival of St. John the Baptist ; and, in 1813, he published a View of 
Mercurial Practice in Febrile Disease. A eulogy on Dr. Warren was 
pronounced by Dr. James Jackson, April 8, 1815, before the Massa- 
chusetts Medical Society; and another eulogy Avas delivered by Josiali 
Bartlett, for the Massachusetts Grand Lodge. 

President Quincy, in the History of Harvard University, remarks 
of Dr. Warren, that he " has just claims to be ranked among the dis- 
tinguished men of our country, for his spirit as a patriot, his virtues 
as a man, and his preeminent surgical skill. The qualities of his heart, 
as well as of his mind, endeared him to his contemporaries." 



BENJAMIN HIGHBORN. 

JULY 4, 1784. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

The quotation herewith, from this patriotic oration on the union of 
the States, and the dangers of an increased territory in this republic, 
comes upon us at this period with great power. 

'•'The American States," says Hichborn, "seem by nature to have 
such an intimate connection, that necessity will oblige them to be close 
friends, or the most inveterate enemies. Friends they may be for 
ages, but cannot long exist in a state of war with each other. Sepa- 
rated only by mathematical or imaginary lines, a very small superiority 
of force in either must be fatal to the neighborhood. Every acquisi- 
tion will render the victorious party more irresistible ; and in propor- 
tion as the conquerors advance, the power of opposing them Avill be 
lessened, till the whole are subdued by a rapacious discontented part. 
But experience having taught us that the force of government is gen- 
erally lessened in proportion to the extent of territory over which it 
is to be exerted, we must expect, in a country like this, inhabited by 
men too sensible of their rights to rest easy under a control founded in 
fraud and supported by oppression, that discontent will break out in 
every quarter, till, by the clashing of various powers, a new division 



168 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of territory will take place, which must soon be succeeded with fresh 
quarrels, similar to those which disturbed the original tranquillity. Thus 
this happy land, formed for the seat of freedom and resort of the dis- 
tressed, may, like other countries, in her turn, become a prey to the 
restless temper of her own inhabitants. But should any of the States, 
pressed by unequal force, call in the aid of some foreign power, the 
consequences must be equally ruinous. A demand of foreign aid in 
one State will produce a similar application from another, till America 
becomes the common theatre on which all the warlike powers on earth 
shall be engaged. But since this combined force, without an adequate 
power somewhere to give it a proper direction, can only operate like a 
mass of unanimated matter to check and destroy the natural activity 
of the body from whence it originates, it becomes an object of the last 
importance to form some great continental arrangements." 



JOHN GARDINER. 

JULY i, 1785. FOR THE TOW^N AUTHORITIES. 

The nervous and comprehensive oration of John Gardiner, showing 
a relation of some of the historical causes of the Revolution, states 
that an event occurred in the fifth year of Queen Anne, of vast import- 
ance to this country. "A statute was passed for the union of the two 
kingdoms of England and Scotland ; by the fourth article of which, it 
is declared that all the subjects of the United Kingdom shall have full 
freedom of trade and navigation to any port within the United King- 
dom, and the dominions thereto belonging ; and that there should be a 
communication of all other rights Avhich belonged to the subjects of 
either kingdom. By this article, our tender, nursing mother, — as she 
has most falsely and impudently been called, — without consulting our 
legislative bodies, or asking the consent of any one individual of our 
countrymen, — assumed upon herself to convey, as stock in trade, 
one full undivided moiety of all the persons, and all the estates and 
property, of the freemen of America, to an alien, who will prove a 
harsh, cruel, and unrelenting stepmother. Then, too much blinded 
with foolish aifcction for that country whose oppressions had forced our 



JOHN GARDINER. 169 

stern, free-minded progenitors into these remote regions of the world 
— into an howling and a savage wilderness, — like children not yet 
attained to the years of reason and discretion, who inconsiderately sup- 
pose their parent ever in the right, our predecessors sat quiet under the 
arbitrary disposition, nor once murmured aloud at the unnatural, and 
to us iniquitous, transaction. 

"Our new parent, Great Britain, then made our kings, appointed our 
governors, and kindly sent many of her needy sons to live upon the 
fruits of our toil ; to reap where neither she nor they had sown, and 
to fill the various offices which she had generally created here, for her 
and their own emolument. Every twentieth cousin of an alehouse- 
keeper, who had a right of voting in the election of a member of Par- 
liament, was cooked up into a gentleman, and sent out here commis- 
sioned to insult the hand that gave him daily bread. Although greatly 
displeased with these injurious proceedings, we submitted to the harsh 
hand of our unfeeling, selfish stepmother, nor once remonstrated against 
these, her unjust, her cruel usurpations." 

John, son of Dr. Sylvester Gardiner, was born at Boston, in the year 
1731. He was in early life sent to England, and entered on the study 
of law at the Inner Temple. He was admitted to practice in the 
courts of Westminster Hall, and became an intimate friend of Church- 
ill, the famous poet. Whilst reading law in the Temple, he formed an 
acquaintance with Lord Mansfield, with whom he became a favorite ; 
and, having the assurance of his patronage, he commenced legal prac- 
tice, with every prospect of rising in England to considerable emi- 
nence. But, being eccentric in character, fearless and independent in 
action, he adopted Whig principles, and, to the surprise of Lord Mans- 
field, appeared as junior counsel in the famous case of John Wilkes, 
the reformer ; and argued with success in the defence of Beardmore 
and Meredith, who, for writings in support of Wilkes, had been impris- 
oned on a general warrant. His zeal on this occasion blasted all hope 
of favor from court or Tory influence. In reference to Mr. Gardiner's 
efibrts in these trials, there now remains in the possession of William 
H. Gardiner, his grandson, and a counsellor-at-law, a valuable and 
beautiful piece of plate, bearing this inscription : 

" 'Pro libertate semper strenuus.' 

"To John Gardiner, Esq., tliis waiter is presented by Arthur Beard- 
more, as a small token of gratitude, for pleading his cause, and that 



170 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of his clerk, David Meredith, against the Earl of Halifax, then Sec- 
retary of State, for false imprisonment, ixnder his warrant, commonly 
called a Secretary of State's vrarrant, that canker of English lib- 
erty.— 17G6." 

He practised a period at South Wales, Haverford West, where he mar- 
ried Margaret Harris. Their eldest son, John Sylvester John, was born 
June, 1765, in Haverford West, and educated under the tuition of the 
celebrated Dr. Samuel Parr, in England. In 1766, Mr. Gardiner 
was appointed chief-justice of the province of New York, which was 
declined. Mr. Gardiner, having been appointed attorney-general in 
the island of St. Christopher, removed his family to the West Indies, 
where he continued until the close of the American Revolution, in 
1783, when ho removed his family to Boston, where he soon became 
an eminent barrister-at-law, and distinguished himself by the highly 
learned oration pronounced July 4, 1785. The notes at the end of 
tliis production, exceeding in matter the text, are of great historic value. 
In the next year, Mr. Gardiner settled at Pownalboro', Maine, where 
he was elected a representative to the Massachusetts Legislature, and 
was an ardent advocate for the abolition of special pleading, but was 
defeated. He effected, however, an abolition of the law of primogen- 
iture. On Jan. 26, 1792, Mr. Gardiner strenuously vindicated the 
establishment of the Boston Theatre, in the Legislature, and was 
decidedly opposed by Samuel Adams and Harrison Gray Otis. His 
speech was pubhshed, and was entitled "The Expediency of Repealing 
the Law against Theatrical Exhibitions." This essay elicited from a 
Roman Catholic priest — one John Thayer — some strictures on what 
he viewed to be "not solid arguments." Mr. Gardiner replied, over 
the signature of Barebones, with great warmth and bitterness. The 
controversy continued for some time, and originated the following 
epigram : 

" Thayer squibs at Gardiner, — Gardiner bangs at Thayer, — 

A contest quite beneath the public care ; 

Each calls the other fool, and rails so long, 

'T is hard to say that either 's in the wrong." 

Tliis production is probably the most scholastic argument in defence 
of the stage ever Avritten by an American ; and it was in this speech 
that Charles Jarvis was first termed " the towering bald eagle of the 
Boston seat." " If the door be opened to the repeal of the act against 
the stage," said Gardiner, "there can be no doubt but that, in time. 



JOHN GARDINER. 171 

tliis country will produce poets -who may tower into the subliraest 
paths of tragedy, and lightly tread along the smiling, flowery road of 
chaste comedy. But if in sullen silence the door is to be forever kept 
shut, and this Gothic statute is to remain unrepealed, our genius will 
be stifled, and our ears will continue to be harassed with nothing better 
than the untuned screechings of the dull votaries of old Sternhold and 
Hopkins ! " In the same year he published A Dissertation on the 
Ancient Poetry of the Romans, in which he said, when contrasting the 
Roman church with the English Established church : "The first of 
their thirty-nine articles is superstitious, contradictory, and unintel- 
ligible : for, if the first part of that article be true, to a plain, honest 
mind, the latter part thereof cannot, in my opinion, be also true ; and 
if the latter part be true, it is a direct contradiction of the first part, 
for the second person there mentioned had parts and passions. Their 
dignified clergy claim an heavenly, or divine, hereditary succession, 
and to have a certain spiritual something bottled in their carcasses, 
which they can communicate to whom they please, and which none but 
themselves, and those whom they touch for that purpose, can possess 
or enjoy. They deny transubstantiation, and yet they cherish con- 
substantiation, which difiers only in the name. In short, they are in 
a very small degree removed from the Mother of Harlots." The opin- 
ions of John Gardiner, barrister, are wide apart from John Sylvester 
John, his son, the divine, who published a very learned discourse, 
entitled "A Preservative against Unitarianism," at Boston, in 1810, 
wherein he thus contemptuously lashes the Unitarians : "No faction 
was ever more active in spreading its tenets than the Unitarians. In 
England they have long conducted the most popular magazines and 
reviews, and here they are eager to seize on every avenue to the pub- 
lic eye and ear. From the slight opposition which they have encoun- 
tered, they really seem to imagine that they are the only wise, and that 
all learning and genius are confined to themselves. But if there be a 
man of supereminent talents among them, let him be pointed out. I 
know him not. The pert conceit, the supercilious sneer, the claim to 
infallibility, the declamation against bigotry and superstition, by which 
they mean belief in the essential doctrines of Christianity, may excite 
admiration among the thoughtless and superficial, but will gain them 
little credit with the sensible and reflecting. The Unitarians are for- 
ever harping upon candor and liberahty, which they display by ineffa- 
ble contempt for all sects but their own. The candor of a Unitarian 



172 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

resembles the humanity of a revolutionary Frenchman. It is entirely 
confined to words ; and I will venture to affirm that no greater out- 
rages against good manners can be found than in the writings of their 
leaders, Wakefield, Belsham, and Priestley. But let them measure 
their own moderate stature with the gigantic dimensions of a Bacon, a 
IMilton, and a Johnson, and perhaps they will be candid enough to 
allow that all genius and knowledge are not confined to Unitarians, 
and that a man may be a Trinitarian without being necessarily either a 
blockhead or a hypocrite."' 

In 1785, John Gardiner took an active part in the alteration of the 
Liturgy in the Common Prayer, being on a committee, with Perez Mor- 
ton and others, of King's Chapel church, striking out the doctrine of 
the Trinity. Dr. Sylvester Gardiner, long a warden of King's Chapel, 
was the father of the subject of this article, of whom John Adams said, 
that "he had a thin, grasshopper voice, and an affected squeak; a 
meagre visage, and an awkward, unnatural complaisance." Barrister 
Gardiner was a ripe scholar, a rare wit, and the most vigorous writer 
of his day ; but highly sarcastic and vituperative toward his opponents. 
He was a zealous politician, learned in his profession, of tenacious 
memory, and of nervous eloquence. 

When on his passage to the General Court of Massachusetts, in the 
packet Londoner, wrecked off Cape Ann in a storm, he was di'owned, 
October, 1793, where his chest of clothino; floated ashore. 



JONATHAN LORING AUSTIN. 

JULY 4, 1786. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

In the smooth and animated oration of Mr. Austin, glowing with 
patriotic fervor, it is said : "What country, my friends, can produce 
so many events, in the course of a few years, as must ever distinguish 
the American page, — a young continent, contending with a nation 
whose estabhshment had been for ages, and whose armies had con- 
quered the powers of the world 1 What spirit, short of an heavenly 
enthusiasm, could have animated these infant colonies, boldly to 



JONATHAN LORING AUSTIN. 173 

renounce tlie arbitrary mandates of a British Parliament, and, instead 
of fawning like suppliants, to arm themselves for their common defence ? 
You dared to appeal to that God who first planted the principles of 
natural freedom in the human breast, — principles repeatedly impressed 
on our infant minds by our great and glorious ancestors ; and may 
yonder sun be shorn of its beams, ere their descendants forget the 
heavenly admonitions ! 

" When I behold so many worthy patriots, who, during the late glo- 
rious struggle, have shone conspicuous in the cabinet and in the field, 
— when I read in each smiling face and placid eye the happy occasion 
for joy and gratulation, — the transporting subject fires my bosom, and, 
with emotions of pleasure, I congratulate my country on the return of 
this anniversary. Hail, auspicious day ! an era in the American 
annals to be ever remembered with joy, while, as a sovereign and 
independent nation, these United States can maintain with honor and 
applause the character they have so gloriously acquired ! How shall 
we maintain, as a nation, our respectability, should be the grand sub- 
ject of inquiry. This is the object to which we must attend ; for the 
moment America sullies her name, by forfeiting her honor, the fame 
she has acquired from the heroism of her sons, and the virtues she 
has displayed in the midst of her distress, Avill only serve, like a train 
of mourners, to attend the funeral of her glory. But, by a due culti- 
vation of manners, a firm adherence to the faith we have pledged, an 
union in council, a refinement in sentiment, a liberality and benevo- 
lence of conduct, we shall render ourselves happy at home and 
respectable abroad ; our constellation will brighten in the political hem- 
isphere, and the radiance of our stars sparkle with increasing lustre." 

Jonathan Loring, son of Hon. Benjamin Austin, was born at Bos- 
ton, Jan. 2, 1748 : entered the Latin School in 1755 ; graduated at 
Harvard College in 1766, on which occasion he delivered the first Eng- 
lish oration ever assigned to a candidate for the bachelor's degree. The 
recent repeal of the Stamp Act had spread universal joy among the 
people, and naturally superseded all classical subjects for such an occa- 
sion. The boldness of some of the sentiments was not much approved 
by the faculty, and had well-nigh cost the candidate the honors of his 
class. Mr. Austin's father was of the Council, and a selectman in Bos- 
ton in 1775, whose upright and venerable form, large, white wig, scarlet 
roquelot, and gold-headed cane, were the personification of the man- 
ners and dress of that period. 
15* 



174 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

After leaving Cambridge, j\Ir. Austin commenced business as a mer- 
chant, in Portsmouth, N. H. lie was appointed a major in a volun- 
teer regiment, under the command of the late Gov. Langdon, raised 
for the protection of that place. On the commencement of hostilities, 
he became aid-de-camp to Gen. Sullivan ; but being about that period 
appointed Secretary of the Board of War in Massachusetts, he directly 
accepted the latter situation, Avhich he sustained until October, 1777. 
Mr. Austin married Miss Hannah Ivors. 

When it became probable that Gen. Gates and the northern army 
would be able by their success to counterbalance the loss of Philadel- 
phia and the gloomy character of the southern campaign, the executive 
Council of Massachusetts resolved to transmit the intelligence by a 
safe and early conveyance to the American Commissioners at Paris. 
For this purpose a vessel was chartered at Boston, and INIr. Austin 
was appointed a special messenger. As soon as the official despatches 
of the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne could be prepared, ^Ir. Austin 
sailed from Boston, October, 1777. It would seem that the feeble 
resources of the State were exhausted by the expense of the vessel. 
Their messenger was allowed to provide his cabin stores at his own 
charge, and to trust to the effect of his intelligence for the means of 
compensation. The pious habit of New England did not at that time 
permit a voyage to Europe, without proposing a note at church on the 
Sunday previous, for the prayers of the congregation. Such was 
accordingly offered at the Old Brick, where his father's family wor- 
shipped. The good Dr. Chauncy, though not gifted hke Dr. Cooper 
in prayer, was on this occasion strongly excited. He thanked the Lord 
most fervently for the great and glorious event which required the 
departure of a special messenger. He prayed that it might pull down 
the haughty spirit of our enemies ; that it might warm and inspirit our 
friends ; that it might be the means of procuring peace, so anxiously 
desired by all good men ; and he prayed that no delay might retard 
the arrival in Europe of the packet Avhich conveyed this great news. 
He invoked a blessing, as desired, on the person who was about to 
expose himself to the dangers of the deep to carry this wonderful intel- 
ligence across the mighty waters ; but, said he, good Lord, whatever, in 
thy wise providence, thou seest best to do with the young man, we 
beseech thee most fervently, at all events, to preserve the packet. The 
vessel arrived at Nantes, November, 1777. 

The commissioners had assembled at Dr. Franklin's apartments, on 



JONATHAN LORING AUSTIN. 175 

the rumor that a special messenger had arrived, and were too impatient 
to suffer a moment's delay. They received him in the court-yard. 
Before he had time to alight, Dr. Franklin addressed him, — ' ' Sir, is 
Philadelphia taken? " " Yes, sir ! " The old gentleman clasped his 
hands, and went to the hotel. "But, sir, I have greater news than 
that; General Burgoyne and his whole army are prisoners of war! "' 
The effect was electrical. The despatches were scarcely read before 
they were put under copy. Mr. Austin was liimself impressed into 
the service of transcribing them. Communication was, without delay, 
made to the French ministry. Lord Stormont, the English ambassa- 
dor, left Paris, and, on the 6th of December, official information was 
given to the American commissioners that the king recognized the 
independence of the United States. Treaties to that effect, and for 
commerce and alliance, were negotiated and signed in sixty days from 
that date ; and the ximerican commissioners, who before were obliged 
almost to keep themselves prisoners, were received into favor at court, 
and into unbounded popularity through all France. 

Dr. Franklin transferred to Mr. Austin the affection of a father, as 
if he had been not merely the messenger, but the cause, of this glorious 
information. He took him directly into his family, constituted him an 
additional private secretary, and continued towards him the kindest 
regards during the whole period of liis abode in France. Often, at 
breakfast or other occasions of their meeting, the old gentleman would 
break from one of those musings in which it was his habit to indulo-e, 
and, clasping his hands together, exclaim, " ! Mr. Austin, you 
brought glorious news ! " He made it a matter of etiquette that Mr. 
Austin should accompany him wherever he was invited. He held him 
at his bedside during the intervals of the painful disease with which he 
was visited ; taught him to play chess, that he might have some con- 
stant cause for the enjoyment of his society, to heap upon him every 
mark of personal attachment during the period of nearly two years of 
his residence in France. 

Dr. Franklin was from that moment the object of unbounded curi- 
osity and interest. The saloons of Paris were incomplete without his 
presence. There was an enthusiasm excited concerning him, which 
brought him into all the most beautiful society of that great metropolis, 
and in Avhich his dress and simplicity of appearance formed a singular 
contrast to the rich and splendid attire of all others of the company. 
The young American, it may well be imagined, was delighted with the 



176 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

splendor and fascinations of these novel scenes ; and might have found 
in their allurements a too dangerous occupation, if the cause of all this 
attraction had not extended to him as well the watchfulness of a father 
as the kindness of a friend. 

A rigid etiquette controlled the court di-ess, of which a sword and 
bag were indispensable parts. The costume, which was regulated by 
the season, was so strictly enforced, that admission was refused to him 
Avho wore lace ruffles when the time required cambric ; but a sword 
was as inappropriate to Franklin as it would be in the hands of a 
Avoman, and he determined to go unarmed. This resolution aston- 
ished the chamberlain of the palace, and delayed, for a time, the 
presentation of the American commissioners. But Franklin knew his 
ground ; and, although it is not probable he would have sacrificed the 
advantage of an introduction at court to any vain regard to costume, 
he determined, if possible, to appear in the simple fashion of his own 
country. The privilege was accorded to him, and the novelty of his 
appearance served to increase admiration for his character. 

Attended by his suite, he had a public audience of the king, and 
was introduced to the private circle of the queen; and from that 
moment, everything Franklin, and everything American, was first in 
style in the gay coteries of the French capital. Dr. Franklin's 
quarters became the point of attraction to all that was distinguished or 
desirous of being prominent in philosoj^hy or fashion, in politics and 
taste ; and the duty of receiving and attending to their numerous calls 
generally devolved on Loring Austin. Ten thousand marks of per- 
sonal kindness which were lavished on Dr. Franklin could not but 
sometimes excite the good-natured jealousy of the other commissioners, 
who, though his equals in political rank, seemed to be forgotten entirely 
by the French people ; and it required some addi'ess, certainly, on the 
part of Franklin, to preserve harmony. Among numberless similar 
instances of the consideration in which he was held, a large cake was 
sent, one morning, to the commissioners' apartment, inscribed, " Le 
digne Franklin," or. For the worthy Frankhn. "We have," said 
one of the gentlemen, " as usual, to thank you for our accommodations, 
and to appropriate your present to our joint use." " Not at all," said 
Franklin ; " this must be intended for all the commissioners, only these 
French people cannot write English. They mean, no doul:)t, ' Lee, 
Dean, Franklin.' " "That might answer," said Mr. Lee; " but we 
know, whenever they remember us at all, they always put you first." 



JONATHAN LORING AUSTIN. 177 

The capture of Burgoyne, and the French alliance, changed ^Yholly 
the character of the American cause, and it began to be believed in 
Europe that the independence of the Colonies might be maintained. 
The members of the English opposition in Parliament maintained a 
correspondence with Dr. Eranldin ; and it has been said that he was 
privately visited in Paris by more than one of them. The ministry, it 
was known, was desirous of keeping the nation in great ignorance of 
the state of American affairs. Little confidence was placed in their 
accounts ; and the most intelligent men sought information from other 
sources, and especially through France. The Americans in England 
were principally loyalists, and the fairness of their representations was 
liable to suspicion. There was in the conduct and constitution of 
American affairs a great departure from the usual course of European 
politics : — the mode of government, the strength, resources and 
prospects of the country, were little understood ; — how the war was 
conducted, when there was none of that machinery which was thought 
indispensable to raise taxes, support armies, and enforce authority. 
They were desirous of having these matters explained, especially as 
the enemies of the American cause made this the constant theme for 
their prophecy of ruin. To communicate this information in an 
authentic and satisfactory manner, to explain and illustrate the actual 
state of things in the United States, it was thought could best be 
done by personal interviews with some intelhgent and confidential per- 
son ; and Dr. Franklin proposed a mission for this purpose to Loring 
Austin. It may readily be supposed that the young American acceded 
to this proposal with pleasure. 

The business was in a high degree confidential ; and, as preparatory 
to it, Franklin required of Austin to burn in his presence every letter 
which he had brought from his friends in America, — in exchange for 
which he gave him two letters, which he assured him would open an 
easy communication to whatever was an object of interest or curiosity, 
either among men or things. One difficulty had, however, nearly 
destroyed this plan. Franklin was unwilling that Austin should be 
known, lest his connection with the commissioners in France might be 
suspected. But he had many relatives in England of distinction, and 
was, besides, personally acquainted with all the loyalists who had left 
Boston. Trusting, however, to his prudence, and enjoining on him 
the most scrupulous attention to preserve from all but the proper per- 



178 THE nUXDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

sons the secret of his connection with the commissioners, Franklin 
furnished him Avith the means of a passage to England. 

Probably no American ever visited England under more fortunate 
circumstances than did Loring Austin. Few of our countrymen have 
the means of associating with the rank and wealth of that nation. 
Those who gain this access by means of oflBcial station maintain a cold 
and formal intercourse, limited in its character, and confined to official 
circles. But the letters of Dr. Franklin, and the desire that was felt 
by the leaders of the opposition to see and converse with an intelligent 
American, who had the confidence of that eminent man, and was from 
the country of their absorbing interest, brought Loring Austin into 
familiar personal intercourse Avith the master spirits of the age. 

In narrating the progress of his commission, Mr. Austin writes : 
" My time passes with so little of the appearance of business, that if I 
was not assured it was otherwise, I should think myself without useful 
employment. The mornings I devote to seeing such objects of curi- 
osity or interest as I am advised to, and wholly according to my own 
inclination. I attend constantly the debates of Parliament, to which 
I have ready admission ; and have been particularly enjoined to 
attend, that I may not miss any question on our afiairs. Dinner, — 
or, as it ought to be called, supper, — which follows afterward, is 
the time allotted to conversation on the afiairs of our country. I am 
invariably detained to parties of this kind, sometimes consisting of 
seven or eight, and sometimes of the number of twenty. The com- 
pany is always composed of members of Parliament, with very few 
additions ; indeed, I do not know of any ; and no question which you 
can conceive is omitted, to all which I give such answers as my knowl- 
edge permits. I am sadly puzzled with the various titles which difier- 
ent ranks require. My small knowledge of French prevented this 
trouble in Paris ; but here I frequently find myself at fault, which 
subjects me to embarrassment, that is yet forgiven to a stranger." 

A constant and familiar intercourse with whatever was noble or 
learned or eminent in the British capital must have made this a most 
delightful winter in London to a young American, educated in the plain 
habits of New England. ]Mr. Austin was domesticated in the family 
of the Earl of Shelburne ; placed under the particular care of his chap- 
lain, the celebrated Dr. Priestley ; introduced to the king, then a youth ; 
in company with Mr. Fox, present at all the coteries of the opposition, 
and called upon to explain and defend the cause and character of 



JONATHAN LORING AUSTIN. 179 

his countrymen, in tlie freedom of colloquial discussion, before the 
greatest geniuses of the age, against the doubts of some, the ridicule 
of others, the censure of many, and the inquiries of all. 

The communications made by Mr. Austin were calculated to explain 
the condition and circumstances of his countrymen, to give a better 
conception of their physical and moral strength, to do away the 
impression of their being at variance among themselves, to explain 
what might otherwise lead to a belief of their want of harmony ; and, 
by stating facts which, with the minuteness that was known to him, 
his hearers could not be acquainted with, he effected a very useful 
impression. 

The object of his visit to England was accomplished to the satisfaction 
of Dr. Franklin, in whose family he continued for some time after his 
return to Paris. Being charged with the despatches of the commis- 
sioners to Congress, he left France, and arrived at Philadelphia, IMay, 
1779. A very liberal compensation was made him by Congress for 
liis services in Europe ; and Mr. Austin again returned to his business 
in Boston, as an owner of a rope- walk, and interested in shipping. 

On the 11th January, 1780, Mr. Austin was appointed by the State 
of Massachusetts a commissioner to negotiate in Europe for a loan of 
one hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling, " and to pledge the 
faith of the government for the repayment of the same ; " and shortly 
after embarked for Spain. Such, however, was the low credit of the 
country abroad, or the want of information among monied men of jts 
resources and condition, that this small sum could not be obtained. 

]Mr. Austin was captured on his outward passage, and carried a 
prisoner into England. Personal incivility, inconsistent with the 
usages of more modern warfare, was practised towards him by the 
captor, for the purpose of discovering the object of his voyage, the 
papers concerning it having been thrown overboard during the chase ; 
and, on the appearance of an American vessel of force, the master of 
the English ship actually confined him to the main-mast, and threat- 
ened to keep him there during the action, — a threat which he would 
probably have put in execution, if an engagement had ensued. Mr. 
Austin, having obtained his hberation in England, by means of friends 
to whom he had formerly been known, passed over to France, and there 
and in Spain and Holland pursued the object of his mission, with 
very indifferent success. He was enabled, by adding his own per- 
sonal credit to that of the State, to procure some articles of clothing, 



180 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

but far sliort of the amount desired by the commonwealth, Mr. 
Austin continued his exertions in HoHand until the summer of 1781 ; 
and, after twenty-two months' absence, returned to the United States. 
After the close of the Revolutionary War, Mr. Austin engaged again 
in commercial and manufacturing pursuits, and confined himself chiefly 
to these occupations. In liis native town he was repeatedly honored 
with the confidence of the people. lie served for many years on the 
boards of overseers of the poor and school committee, and in the State 
Senate, as a member from Suffolk. On removing to Cambridge, where 
he resided during the period his sons were passing through the uni- 
versity, — one of whom prepared the greatest part of this sketch, — 
Mr, Austin was elected a representative from that town to the Legis- 
lature, and was successively elected secretary and treasurer of the 
commonwealth. 

The associations of his early life, and his intercourse with educated 
society in the courts of Europe, had given a refinement and polish to 
his manners and mode of thinking, that entitled him to the reputation 
he then universally enjoyed, of being one of the most accomphshed 
gentlemen of the day. There are those remaining who remember that 
he, whom for many years we had been accustomed to see bowed down 
by infirmity and age, was once 

" The glass of fashion ami the mould of form, 
The observed of all observers." 

Shortly before his death, INIr. Austin interested some young friends, 
by reciting, memoriter, several of the fine descriptions of Homer and 
Virgil, which he was ever able fluently to repeat. He died at Boston, 
May 15, 1826, 

The Hon. Benjamin Austin, an active and zealous leader of the old 
Republican party, and a brother of Jonathan Loring Austin, was a 
frequent writer in the Independent Chronicle, over the signature 
of Honestus, and author also of a Avarm political work, entitled " Old 
South," comprising 350 pages, 8vo, His political articles effected a 
greater sensation than the productions of any writer in liis party, and 
elicited the following severe effusion from the most satirical j)oet of 
Boston : 

' ' In vain our literary champions write, — 
Their satire tickles, and their praises bite. 
They, by their poor, dull nonsense, clearly own 
Our depth of anguish to the laughing town. 



JONATHAN LORING AUSTIN. ISl 

Their pens inflict not e'en a moment's pain, 

And Honee scribbles, and his friends, in vain ; 

Like angry flies that buzz upon the Tving, 

They show the will, but not the power, to sting ; 

Ambitious with ephemeras to vie. 

Or moles that thunder into light, and die." 

Here follows an account of the fruitless efforts of Honestus to make 
a speech at the Jacobin Club, which met at the Green Dragon Tavern : 

•' Thrice from his seat his form Honestus reared. 
And thrice in attitude to speak appeared ; 
His lean left hand he stretched as if to smite. 
And manful grasped his breeches with his right. 
Thrice he essayed to speak, and thrice his tongue 
In his half-opened mouth suspended hung ; 
Once more he rose, with mortifying pain, — 
Once more he rose, — and then sat down again. 
His disappointed bosom heaved a sigh, 
And tears of anguish started from his eye. 

* * * * 
Thrice he essayed, and thrice, in spite of scorn, 
Tears, such as angels weep, burst forth at last ; 
Words, interwove with sighs, found out their way. 

* * * * 
Of all her sons, none gained so much applause 
As lank Honestus, with his lanthorn jaws. 

* * * « 
Once, too, misguided by some adverse power. 
You aped patrician's airs in evil hour, 

And Federal Russell, in resentful fit. 
Thy back belabored, and thy face ' 



In "The Democratiacl," a political satire, published at Philadel- 
phia in 1795, we find the following allusion to a speech of Benjamin 
Austin, in Faneuil Hall, on Jay's treaty, and in our sketch of Joseph 
Hall are further allusions. The "satirizing priest" of whom the 
poet says Mr. Austin had such dread was probably Dr. Gardmer : 

*' Now, sage Honestus from his seat arose, 
Thrice stroked his chops, and thrice surveyed his toes ; 
Thrice strove his mighty project to declare. 
Thrice stopped to see if Parson G. were there ; — 
For well he knew the satirizing priest 
Would hang him up, a scarecrow and a jest, 
If once he saw his wayward footsteps stray 
But a small distance in the factious way. 

16 



182 THE HUNDRED BOSTON OEATORS. 

All ! timid man, thou nothing hadst to dread, 
Among thy Club appeared no honest head ; 
No Parson G. was there thy steps to trace, 
And paint the guilty terrors of thy face." 



THOMAS DAWES. 

JULY i, 1787, FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Judge Dawes introduced the following felicitous figure, in this pro- 
duction: "One of the late aerostatic navigators," — probably Dr. 
John Jeffries, — "has intimated that. -when sailing in his balloon through 
the blue chmes of air, over European territories, the eye was gratified 
in the accuracy with which the divisions were made between contiguous 
owners of the lands below. The circumstance suggested tlie idea of 
firm laws. Had this philosopher made his aerial voyage over the fields 
of Massachusetts, he would have enjoyed an additional sentiment, — an 
idea of equality would have been joined to that of certainty. The senti- 
mentalist would not only have discovered the justness of outlines in the 
bounds of property, but he would have observed the equality of por- 
tions of the respective owners, — ^a species of equality how exalted 
above the condition of those countries where the peasant is alienated 
with the soil, and the price of acres is the number of slaves ! Not, 
indeed, that perfect equality which deadens the motives of industry, 
and places demerit on a footing -ftith virtue ; but that happy mediocrity 
which soars above bondage, without aspiring to domination. Less 
favorable to liberty were those agrarian laws which lifted the ancient 
republics into grandeur." 

In the peroration of this oration, Judge Dawes says, in a strain 
of eloquence : " Poverty of genius is not our misfortune. The forms 
of free and justly balanced politics maintain our title to legislative wis- 
dom. Nor have we narrowed the gates of our religious institutions. 
Liberality is not an exotic that dies on our soil. Independent ground 
is not watered with the blood of unbelievers. We have not contracted 
the worship of the Deity to a single establishment, but we have opened 
an asylum to all people, and kindred, and tongues, and nations. No ! 



THOMAS DAWES. 183 

Mediocrity is not tlie bane of independent minds. Nature has dealt 
-with us not on the minute scale of economy, but the broader principles 
of bounty. What remains, then, but that we improve the gratuities 
of Providence ? Roused by a sense of past suiFering and the dignity 
of freedom, we have once more called on venerable sages of our first 
Congress, on other immortal characters, to add new strength and 
beauty to the fair fabric of independence. 

"A legislation, common in certain cases to all the States, will make 
us a nation in reality, as well as in name. This will permit us to 
respect our own station, and to treat on equal grounds with other 
powers ; will suifer us to be just at home and respectable abroad ; 
will render property secure, and convince us that the payment of debts 
is our truest policy and highest honor. This will encourage husbandry 
and arts ; will settle, with numerous and happy families, the banks 
of the Ohio and the borders of Kennebec. Huron's neglected waves 
— Superior's Avilderness of waters, now forlorn and unemployed — 
shall bear the countless vessels of internal traffic. Niagara's foaming 
cataract, crowned with columns of vapor and refracted lines, shall not 
always bar the intercourse of mighty lakes. The mechanic arts shall 
find a passage from Erie to Ontario, and Champlain shall be led in 
triumph to the bosom of the deep. 

"Hail, glorious age ! when the potent rays of perfect liberty shall 
burst upon the now benighted desert ; when the tawny natives of 
America, and the descendants of those Avho fled hither from the old 
world, shall forget their animosities ; when all parts of this immense 
continent shall be happy in ceaseless communications, and the mutual 
exchange of benefits; when the cornucopia of peace shall be pre- 
ferred to the waste of war, as the genial gales of summer to the ruf- 
fian blasts of winter ; when nations, who now hold the same jealous 
relation to each other which individuals held before society was formed, 
shall find some grand principle of combination, like that which rolls 
the heavenly bodies round a common centre. The distinct fires of 
American States, which are now blended into one, rising just through 
broken clouds from the horizon, shall blaze bright in the zenith, — the 
glory of the universe ! ' ' 

"You and I," says John Adams to Samuel Adams, "have seen 
four noble families rise up in Boston, — the Crafts, Gores, Dawes and 
Austins. These are as really a nobility, in our town, as the Howards, 
Somersets, Berties, &c., in England. By nobles I mean not pecu- 
liarly an hereditary nobility, or any particular modification, but the 
natural and actual aristocracy amono; mankind." 



184 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

JOHN BROOKS. 

JULY 4, 1787. FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI. 

Before the dissolution of the American army, the officers, in their 
cantonments near Hudson's river, instituted a society, J\Iay 10, 1783, 
which, from similarity in their situation to that of the celebrated 
Roman, was to be denominated " The Society of the Cincinnati." It 
was to be designated by a medal of gold, representing the American 
eagle, bearing on its breast the devices of the order, which was to be 
suspended by a deep blue ribbon, edged with white, descriptive of the 
union of America and France. The immutable principles of the 
society required the members to preserve the rights and privileges of 
human nature, for which they had fought and bled, and to promote 
and cherish union and honor between the respective States. Its objects 
were to perpetuate the remembrance of the American Revolution, as 
well as a cordial affection among the officers, and to extend acts of 
beneficence to those officers and their families whose situation might 
require assistance. A common fund was to be created, by the deposit 
of one month's pay on the part of every officer becoming a member. 
This institution excited no inconsiderable degree of jealousy and oppo- 
sition. The ablest dissertation against it was entitled "Considerations 
on the Society or Order of Cincinnati," dated Charleston, S. C, Oct. 
10, 1783, and signed " Cassius." It was the production of Acdamus 
Burke, one of the judges of the Supreme Court of South Carolina, 
who undertook to prove that the Cincinnati creates two distinct orders 
among our people : a race of hereditary nobles founded on the military, 
together with the most influential families and men in the State, — and 
the people, or plebeians. On about the year 1803, Col. Humphrey 
wrote, in reply, that "more than twenty years have elapsed, and not 
one fact has occurred to countenance these jealous insinuations." This 
institution is said to have been originated by Maj. Gen. Knox. Its 
first president was George Washington, who gave his signature at the 
head of the list of members on its establishment. Gen. Knox was 
secretary-general. The first officers for the Massachusetts branch of 
that society were as follows : 

Maj. Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, Prcsideiit; Maj. Gen. Henry Knox, 
Vice President; Col. John Brooks, Secretary] Col. Henry Jackson, 
Treasurer ; Capt. Benjamin Haywood, Assista7i.t Treasurer. 



JOUN BROOKS. 185 

The first orator for this branch of the institution was Hon. John 
Brooks, in 1787. After 1790, the dehvery of orations for this society 
ceased ; but annual meetings, and civic feasts, with toasts and senti- 
ments, on the anniversary of independence, are to this day perpetuated. 

A strong indication of the patriotic motives of this remnant of revo- 
hitionary heroes is evident from the eloquent appeal of Gen. John 
Brooks, in this oration. " Considering the temper of the times," says 
Gen. Brooks, " in which you hve, the part you have to act is confess- 
edly difficult. For, although, as a society, friendship and benevolence 
are your great objects, yet apathy in you with regard to the public 
welfare would be construed into disaflFection, and uncommon sensibility 
into design. It is impossible for men, whose great ambition it has 
been to deserve the approbation of their fellow-citizens, to view with 
indifference the reproach which has been cast upon your institution. 
But there is a degree of respect due from every man to himself, as well 
as to others ; and there are situations from which one may not recede, 
without the unavoidable imputation of weakness or of guilt. While, 
therefore, a consciousness of virtuous and laudable views will prompt 
you to cherish the benevolent principles which first induced you to 
associate, you will be led to respect that spirit of jealousy which 
always characterizes a free government, and, when not carried to 
excess, is useful in its support. Time, which places everything in its 
true hght, will convince the world that your institution is founded in 
virtue, and leads to patriotism. 

" Besides the motives you have, in common with others, to seek the 
public welfare, a regard to the consistence of your own character, 
that sense of honor which has raised you superior to every temptation 
and to every distress, the reiterated testimonials you have received 
from your country of their sense of your patriotism and military merit, 
are ties that must forever bind you most sacredly to her interests. 
Prosecute, then, with resolution, what you have instituted in sincerity. 
Make it the great object of your ambition, as you have shone as 
soldiers, to excel as citizens. Treat with just indifference the insinua- 
tions which envy may be disposed to throw out against you. Silence 
the tongue of slander, by the rectitude of your conduct and the bril- 
liance of your virtues. Suffer not the affected jealousy of individuals 
to abate the ardor of your patriotism. As you have fought for lib- 
erty, convince the world you know its value. As you have greatly 
contributed to estabhsh these governments, teach the licentious traitor 
16* 



186 THE HUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

that joii will support them ; and as you have particularly fought under 
the banners of the Union, inculcate, in your several circles, the neces- 
sity of preserving the unity of the national character. Fortify your 
minds against that foe to integrity, that bane of republicanism, an 
immoderate thirst for popularity." 

Hon. John Brooks was born at Medford, June 6, 1752, and received 
a town-school education. He was an indented apprentice to Simon 
Tufts, M. D., at the age of fourteen, until he became of age. He 
early settled at Reading, in medical practice, and married Lucy Smith, 
an orphan. While at Eeading, he became captain of a company of 
minute-men, and it being at the period when Boston was in the pos- 
session of the British troops, under pretext of going into town for 
medicine to be used in his profession, he engaged a drill-sergeant of 
the regulars to secretly ins>truct him in the manual exercise ; and he 
often remarked, it was of this British soldier that he acquired the 
rudiments of military tactics. He Avas not at the Itattle of Bunker 
Hill, but was engaged in other services on that day and night, at 
Cambridge. His daughter Lucy was prematurely born, at Reading, 
on that memorable day ; and, being remarkable for active and ener- 
getic habits, her brother Alexander observed to her, one day, when she 
was bustling about the house, " Why, Lucy, you was born in a 
bustle, and I believe you will die in a bustle." Mr. Brooks was 
a schoolmate with the eminent Count Rumford. Hon. Loammi 
Baldwin, of Woburn, was his early friend ; and each was destined 
for college, but neither of them ever received a literary education, 
being diverted from their purpose by patriotic ardor. Capt. Brooks 
was in the battle of Lexington, and, meeting the British force on 
their return from Concord, he ordered his men to post themselves 
behind the barns and fences, and fire incessantly upon them. Col. 
Brooks, in the battle of Saratoga, at the head of his regiment, stormed 
and carried the intrenchments of the German troops. In the battle 
of Monmouth, Brooks was acting adjutant-general. After the battle 
of Saratoga, he thus laconically wrote to a friend: "We have met 
the British and Hessians, and have beat them; and, not content 
with this victory, we have assaulted their intrenchments, and carried 
them." 

Col. Brooks detected a conspiracy of officers at Newburgh, early in 
1783. He kept them within quarters, to prevent an attendance on 
the insurgent meeting. On this occasion, which was probably the 



JOHN BROOKS. 187 

most anxious period in the career of Washington, vfho rode up to him 
for counsel on this point, Brooks said, " Sir, I have anticipated your 
wishes, and my orders are given." Washington, with tears in his eyes, 
extended to him his hand, and said, " Col. Brooks, this is just what 
I expected from you." What a scene for an artist! In 1780, Col. 
Brooks delivered a Masonic oration at West Point, in the presence of 
the noble Washington. He was commander of the Ancient and Hon- 
orable Artillery Company in 1786, and major-general of the Massa- 
chusetts troops in Shays' insurrection. In 1788 he was a member of 
the State convention for the adoption of the federal constitution. 
Was president of the Massachusetts Medical Society. In 1795 Gen. 
Brooks published an oration for the Massachusetts Humane Society. 
In 1800 he published a eulogy on Washington, delivered at Medford. 
He had, previous to this period, been appointed a U. S. marshal, 
and supervisor of the direct tax. He Avas vice-president of the first 
temperance society in New England, on its institution, in 1813. He 
was the State adjutant-general under Caleb Strong, and Governor 
of the State from 1816 to 1823. We well remember the beautiful 
scene of August 25, 1824, when Lafayette stood on the balcony of the 
mansion-house at the head of Park-street, attended by Gov. Eustis on 
the right, and his immechate predecessor. Gov. Brooks, on the left side 
of him, each in full military dress amid the cheerings of the gathered 
multitude, and the escort of the Boston regiment, on retiring to 
their quarters. When Lafayette visited his old companion-in-arms, 
during this month, one of the arches displayed, on his entrance into 
Medford, this inscription, " Welcome to our Hills and Brooks." 
Gov. Brooks died at Medford, March 1, 1825. 

Lieut. John, a son of Gov. Brooks, of youthful beauty and generous 
enterprise, fell in the battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813, on 
board Perry's flag-ship Lawrence. Alexander S., his other son, en- 
tered the U. S. army. Lucy married Rev. Geo. 0. Stuart, of Canada. 

"In the character of tliis estimable man," remarks his pastor, 
Andrew Bigelow, D. D., "there was a junction of quahties equally 
great and good. Great qualities he certainly possessed. The faculties 
of his mind, naturally of no inferior order, had been unusually strength- 
ened by culture and exercise. Separately, they were all entitled to 
respect on the score of power ; and, had the entire assemblage centred 
in some one not endued with his genuine goodness of heart, or in 
whose breast a baleful ambition reigned, they would have clearly 



188 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

proved the possessor to be a talented man, in the popular sense of the 
phrase. In the case supposed, they would have stood all naked and 
open, and have glared upon human observation.*' The best memoir 
of John Brooks extant is that written by his pastor. 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 

JULY 4, 1788. rOR THE TOAVN AUTHORITIES. 

In this spirited and elegant oration of Mr. Otis, it is remarked : 
" A review of the history of the North American settlements exhibits 
an early and almost a continual struggle between tyranny and avarice 
upon one side, and an ardent sense of native liberty upon the other. 
Those are mistaken who think that the original source of oppression 
may be traced in the ordinance of the Stamp Act. The first colonial 
institution established in Virginia was subjected to an arbitrary 
council, dependent upon the capricious pleasure of a king. Patience 
and enterprise at length had discovered to the inhabitants a staple 
production at that period peculiar to the colony, Avhen the harsh man- 
date of a tyrant foe had the cultivation of it, and condemned commerce 
to defile her infant hands in the fruitless, ignoble drudgery of searching 
after mines. In other southern colonies, instances are not wanting 
of inquisitorial writs and of violated charters. 

" It must, however, be allowed, that, sheltered by the canopies of 
their paramounts, they were in general less exposed than their sister 
provinces to the scorching rays of supreme majesty. Advancing into 
New England, the system of oppression becomes more uniform, and 
the resistance consequently more consjiicuous. No affluent proprie- 
tary appeared to protect our hardy ancestors. The immeasurable wild 
had yielded to their industry a vacancy barely sufficient for their 
household gods. At the same moment, the pestilential breath of a 
despot blew into their country a swarm of locusts, commissioned to 
corrode their liberties to the root. Even in those early times, not 
only the freedom, but the use of the press, was prohibited ; new taxes 
were imposed ; old charters were abrogated : citizens were impressed. 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 189 

The crown of England restrained emigrations from tliat country, dis- 
couraged population upon this side of the Atlantic, confiscated estates, 
suppressed the habitual modes of public worship, and precluded the 
wretched privilege of complaint. Oppressed in a manner so irritating, 
so unworthy, how did our forefathers sustain these accumulated mis- 
eries ? Did they crouch, dismayed, beneath the iron sceptre ? Did 
they commit treason against themselves, by alienating the dearest pre- 
rogatives of humanity ? No ; we find them persevering in decent, 
pathetic remonstrances, in the time of Charles the First, refusing to 
surrender their patent to Cromwell, and exhibiting a bill of rights at 
the time of the restoration. After the abdication of James, the tri- 
umph of liberty in Britain became complete. Ministers naturally 
grew fearful lest her pervading influence should extend to the colonies ; 
and from the era of the Revolution until the gloomy hour of the 
Stamp Act, the plan of our slavery was always resumed in the inter- 
vals of domestic peace. Affairs now assumed a more serious aspect. 
The minds of men became vehemently agitated ; and, after a sad vari- 
ety of disappointment, the citizens of these provinces were compelled 
to draw their swords, and to appeal to the God of armies. What, then, 
may we hence infer, were the principles which actuated the high-spir- 
ited Americans, placed in a situation so critical and disastrous? They 
were elevated, patriotic, godlike. They induced a voluntary sacrifice 
of ease and fortune, a contempt for danger, and inspired confidence in 
leaders chosen by themselves. What were the manners ? These con- 
sisted in honor, temperance, fortitude, religion. What were the feel- 
ings '? These, no power of language can describe. Had they still 
continued to animate our bosoms, they might have supplied the want 
of a new government, which now alone can save us from perdition." 

Harrison Gray Otis was a son of Samuel Alleyne Otis, a native of 
Barnstable, who married Elizabeth, the only daughter of Harrison 
Gray, Receiver-general of this province ; and second to Mary, the widow 
of Edward Gray, Esq., and daughter of Isaac Smith. His father was 
early in mercantile life, settled in Boston, and was active in the cause 
of liberty, but was too youthful to become eminent in the Revolution, 
like his brother James, the great advocate. He was, however, a rep- 
resentative from Boston in 1776, and member of the State convention 
of 1780. He was a member of the Board of War, and Speaker of the 
House, 1784. In 1787 he was appointed one of the commissioners 
to negotiate regarding Shays' insurrection. He was elected a member 



190 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of Congress in 1788, and after the adoption of tlie federal constitu- 
tion -ft-as chosen Secretary of the Senate of the United States, which 
he filled -with scrupulous fidelity, blandness and courtesy, — \\ithout, 
it is said, being absent from his post a single day during a period of 
thirty years, and till his decease, amid the collision of party strife, to 
the approbation of all parties. He died at Washington, April 22, 
1814, aged 73. 

The grandfather of the subject of this article — Harrison Gray, Esq. 
— adhered to the royal cause, and removed from Boston, March 17, 
1776, with the British troops, on their evacuation. John Adams once 
impulsively said of Harrison Gray, that he has a very tender mind, 
and is extremely timid. He says, "When he meets a man of the other 
side, he talks against him; when he meets a man of our side, he 
opposes him, — so that he fears he shall be thought against everybody, 
and so everybody will be against him." And at another time, Mr. Adams 
remarked: " I went in to take a pipe with brother Cranch, and there 
I found Zab Adams. He told me he heard that I had made two very 
powerful enemies in this town, and lost two very valuable clients — 
Treasurer Gray and Ezekiel Goldthwaite ; and that he heard that 
Gray had been to me for my account, and paid it ofi", and determined to 
have nothing more to do with me. 0, the wretched, impotent malice ! 
They show their teeth, — they are eager to bite. — but they have not 
strength. I despise their anger, their resentment, and their threats ; 
but I can tell Mr. Treasurer that I have it in my power to tell the 
world a tale which will infallibly unhorse him, whether I am in the 
house or out. If this province knew that the pubhc money had never 
been counted these twenty years, and that no bonds were given last 
year, nor for several years before, there would be so much uneasiness 
about it that Mr. Treasurer Gray would lose his election another year." 
And Trumbull, in McFingal, satirically says : 

" What Puritan could ever pray- 
In godlier tone tlian Treasurer Gray ? 
Or at town-meetings, speechifying, 
Could utter more melodious whine. 
And shut his eyes, and vent his moan, 
Like owl afflicted in the sun ? ' ' 

Bold imputations having been declared that Treasurer Gray had 
appropriated funds of this province to private purposes, the grand- 
son prepared a clear refutation of the unjust accusation, from which we 



nARRISON GRAY OTIS. 191 

select a portion. It may be found entire in RusselFs Centinel, June, 
1830. Alluding to grandfather Gray, Mr. Otis says : "I was indeed 
only nine years old when I last saw him, but my recollections of him 
and of the circumstances of his exile are associated with the most vivid 
and affectionate impressions of that tender age. My paternal ances- 
tors were, in the phrase of the day, high Whigs. My paternal grand- 
father was president of the council held in 1774, immediately after 
the dissolution de facto of the regular government, by Gage ; and in 
the years next following the departure of the British from Boston, my 
uncles and father were, some of them, in the General Court, and inti- 
mately connected with the public transactions of the times. In 1775, 
my father, with his wife, the treasurer's only daughter and children, 
took refuge in my paternal grandfather's mansion in the country. In 
1776, immediately after the evacuation, we returned to Boston. Though 
the opposite political attitudes of the two ftmiilies never interrupted for 
a moment the tender attachment of my parents for each other, yet the 
separation of my father from her father, whose darling child she was, 
preyed upon her peace of mind, and finally destroyed her health. Thus 
it may well be conceived that the public relation and affairs of Treas- 
urer Gray, from November, 1774, when the people took the reins of 
government into their own hands, — my paternal grandfather then being, 
in fact, the presiding ofiicer, — to the time of his leaving the country, 
and that his departure itself and the circumstances attending it, were 
themes of constant discussion and intense interest in the family circle, 
in my hearing ; and that, had any suspicion, hint or accusation, of 
his carrying away the public money, prevailed among the ruling party, 
they could not have been hidden or forgotten by me. Two years after 
this time, at the age of twelve, I began a correspondence with the 
treasurer. After the peace, and before I was of age, he employed me 
in attempting to save and convey to him something from the wreck of 
his fortune. In 1794, at the advanced age of eighty-four, this excellent 
and virtuous man sunk to rest. Yet, through the long period of eighteen 
years of constant correspondence with him, and the longer time of 
six-and-thirty years, during Avhich his bones have been mouldering in 
the grave, I solemnly declare that I never heard of the suggestion of 
any defalcation of the public money by him, or of any offence commit- 
ted against his country, but his acceptance of the mandamus commis- 
sion. But I well remember the constant exultation of my mother, in 
the midst of her troubles, that ' his enemies could say nothing against 



192 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

him.' This negative testimony should suffice to put down the idle and 
unsupported fabrication." Mr. Otis, after going into a detail unequiv- 
ocallj proving the financial honor of his maternal grandfather, thus 
eloquently remarks : "I have never, to the best of my remembrance, 
•written a line in vindication of my own public character, though for 
years together I have been doomed to run the gauntlet through rank 
and file of my political op^wnents. But I have now no choice. Some 
old resurrectionist, in fumbling over the tomb of a relative recently 
deceased, disturbs the ashes of another long since dead. It is my duty 
to protect them. They are the sacred relics of my earliest friend and 
benefactor, whose name I bear, whose blood is in my veins, and whose 
exile I was tauglit to regard as the heaviest calamity that befell my 
childhood and youth. He atoned for a solitary pohtical error of judg- 
ment by sacrificing fortune to principle, and left instead of it the leg- 
acy only of a good name. An attempt is now made to conjure up a 
mist of slander or suspicion over his antiquated tomb. To the name 
of the dark magician I have no clue. He calls himself Senex, and 
deals in the gossip by which ' narrative old age ' betrays its approxima- 
tion to dotage. I hope the exceeding absurdity of the statement into 
which he has been led will naturally restrain him hereafter, — the pro- 
pensity natural to old folks of prating about sixty years' since, — and 
that he will remember, when they grow anecdotical, they become 
obnoxious to the character once given by a lady to an old busy-body, 
who, inquiring what the world thought of him, was answered, ' All the 
women think you an old man, and all the men consider you an old 
woman.' " 

Harrison Gray, in a letter to Rev. Mr. Montague, of Christ Church, 
Boston, dated London, Aug. 1, 1791, remarks to him, in a spirit of 
loyalty to the crown of Britain, as follows : " The melancholy state in 
which you represent religion to be in Boston and New England is con- 
firmed by all who come from thence. Is this one of the blessings of 
your independence, to obtain which you sacrificed so many hves'? I 
am glad that your federal constitution ' has had a very great and good 
effect,' but very much question whether you will ever be so happy as 
you Avere under the mild and gentle government and protection of Great 
Britain ; for, notwithstanding the freedom my countrymen boast of, if, 
in order to obtain it, they have sacrificed their religion, they have made 
a poor bargain. They cainiot, in a religious sense, be called a free 
people, till the Son of God has made them free. 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 193 

'•It is very surprising, considering the establishment of the Roman 
Cathohc rehgion at Quebec was one of the heavy grievances the Amer- 
ican Congress complained of, that your governor and other great men 
in your town should attend the worship of God in a Roman Catholic 
church, to hear a Romish bishop, on a Sunday ; and that he should be 
one of the chaplains who officiated at a public dinner ! I cannot, at 
present, account for their inconsistency any otherwise than by supposing 
the part they took in the late unhappy contest lays so heavy upon their 
consciences that they imagine no one can absolutely absolve them but 
a Romish priest." 

Harrison Gray Otis was born in Boston, Oct. 8, 1765, on the estate 
adjoining the Revere House, and next that of the late Capt. Jonathan 
Chapman. He remembered standing at the window of his birth-place, 
to see the British regulars, when on the march to Lexington. He 
entered the public Latin School in 1773. The youthful days of Mr. 
Otis, at this period, are narrated by himself, in his speech at the dedi- 
cation of the Otis School, on Lancaster-street, March 13, 1845 ; and 
this was his last public address. Mr. Otis said that nothing was more 
remote from his mind than the idea of making an address upon a sub- 
ject of such importance as education. The day for making addresses 
had long since passed with him. Old men should know when to 
retire. They should not, like old ladies, appear in public bedizened 
with the ornaments of youth. He was not competent to make one 
now, but he could do what all old men could, — tell a story about him- 
self. As the school had been named after him, he was vain enough to 
suppose that some of the pupils would be interested in hearing some- 
thing that related to his school-boy days. He was a Boston boy, and 
he had received all his education at the public schools after he was 
seven years old. He cherished a great aifection for those days, and he 
thought Avith pleasure on the memory of his schoolmasters, with whom 
he had always been on good terms, excepting an occasional flogging. 
The first school he went to was a rpiasl public school. It was kept by 
Master Griffith, in Hanover-street. His friend, Deacon Grant, who 
was near him, knew exactly where it Avas. Master Griffith was a 
worthy old creature, and had some pretensions to facetiousness. His 
ideas, as to rewards, were a little peculiar. Every Wednesday after- 
noon, the boys who had demeaned themselves with propriety expected 
to receive a prize, which expectation was not disappointed. But what 
did they think it was ? Shellbarks, thrown out of the window, for 
17 



194 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

which the bojs scrambled ! He then went to the Latin School, which 
was in School-street. The master, Mr. Lovell, was a worthy old gen- 
tleman ; but there had been a sort of rivalry between the Latin and 
the writing schools, which was the cause of several curious doggerel 
effusions on the part of the boys, some extracts of Avhich were repeated 
by Mr. Otis with humorous effect. 

Forty years ago, continued Mr. Otis, the place where this school was 
built was a mill-pond. The tide flowed into it to the depth of ten or 
twelve feet. There was then no expectation that a school-house would 
ever be erected on this spot. There were "schools" of fishes here, 
but there was no schoolmaster, except the successor of St. Anthony, 
who, it was said, could preach to the fishes. Mr. Otis said he was 
entirely inadequate to describe the great advantages which the children 
of the present day had over the boys and girls of his time. What did 
they learn then ? A few Latin roots to squeeze them into college, and 
mere ciphering. They had then none of those advantages which he 
now saw. There was not then that group of learned teachers, who were 
deserving of the thanks of the country. He spoke with great venera- 
tion of those who had lived in his time ; but he did not think it was 
any disparagement to their memory to say that they were not to be 
compared to the instructors of the present day. He commended them 
to their teachers, and their teachers to them ; and he prayed them to be 
satisfied of the great advantages which they enjoyed, and to improve 
the opportunity Avhich was afforded to them of becoming good and 
enlightened citizens. He hoped that, as the school had been called 
after him, they would remember him in their good will; and he more 
affectionately and fervently commended them — teachers and pupils — 
to the care and protection of their Maker. 

In connection with this period in the youth of Otis, we have a rem- 
iniscence, finely Avoven in his own charming language. " Barnstable," 
says he, " was not only the place of the birth and residence of my 
immediate ancestors for four generations, but it afforded to my child- 
hood an asylum from the storms of war, and a retreat for my peaceful 
studies, during the siege of Boston. I had been there but a few weeks 
before the news arrived of the conflagration of Charlestown. This 
came to us not in the shape which it has since assumed, of a real vic- 
tory, though nominal defeat ; but with the unmitigated horrors of con- 
flagration and massacre, and as a specimen of the mode in which our 
peaceful villages were intended to be swept with the fire and sword. 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 1&5 

•' I was placed at school," continues Mr. Otis, '• witli the admirable 
pastor, Mr. Hilhard, of the east parish, where I passed my time from 
Mondays to Saturdays. On the last day of the week, I was sent for 
and conveyed to the patriarchal mansion, and attended on Sundays the 
religious instructions of the pious and venerable Mr. Shaw. In these 
weekly journeyings, I became familiar with the location of every house 
and building between my points of departure, and with the younger 
inmates of many of them ; and I feel as if I could jot down the principal 
part of them upon a plan of the road. Barnstable was not only the 
scene of my earliest friendship, but of my first love. I became enam- 
ored of a very charming young person, nearly of my own age, — but 
the course of this love did not run smoothly. In an innocent ramble 
over the fields and hedges with her and other young persons, she had 
the misfortune to lose a necklace of genuine gold beads : the fault was 
neither hers nor mine, but of the string on which they Avere threaded ; 
but still, as real mint-drops were in that day very valuable, and treasury- 
notes greatly on the decline, the circumstance brought me into some 
discredit with the family, as accessory to a loss which impaired the 
faculty of resuming specie payments when the time should arrive, and 
resulted in a future non-intercourse." The mother of young Otis, in 
a letter to her father, while in this seclusion, speaking of him, says, 
" I shall enclose you a letter from Harry, of his own writing and indit- 
ing, which will enable you to form some judgment of his genius, which, 
his tutor tells me, is very uncommon." 

Young Otis graduated at Harvard College in 1783, when but 
eighteen years of age, receiving the higliest honors of a class among 
whom were William Prescott, Artemas Ward, and Ambrose Spencer. 
At that period, his young friends warmly conceded that the mantle 
of his eloquent uncle, James Otis, had encircled him, for he was 
greatly admired for brilliant and graceful oratory : 

" Otis rises like a vernal morn, 

Clear, brilliant, sweet, in nature's gifts arrayed. 
Where not a cloud obtrudes its devious shade." 

Here we Avill again recur to the sprightly and delightful remembrance 
of Mr. Otis in relation to this period, contained in his letter read at 
the centennial celebration of Harvard University, Sept. 8, 1836. " It 
is noAY fifty-three years since I first received the honors of the univer- 
sity. The surviving number of my fellow-classmates is very small. 



196 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

To those of us who are present — ' remnant of ourselves ' — these 
years probably appear like the ' tale that is told.' My own career, 
through the long period, seems, in the retrospect, like a rapid journey 
through a path beset with flowers and thorns ; — the wounds received 
from the latter remaining, while the color and fi-agrance of the former 
arc gone forever. In the year in which I was graduated, the com- 
mencement was preceded by the acknowledgment of independence and 
the treaty of peace, and the English oration was assigned to me. You 
will naturally presume that the event, adapted to enkindle enthusiasm 
m an orator of the gravest character and age, would stimulate the fervid 
imagination of eighteen to paint in somewhat gorgeous colors the pros- 
pects unfolded to our country by this achievement of its liberties, and 
its probable effect upon the destinies of other nations. I remember 
that I did so, and indulged the impulse of a sanguine temperament in 
building what doubtless seemed to others, and perhaps to myself, 
castles in the air. But, had it been in my imagination to conceive, 
and in my power to describe, what we now know to be a reality, I 
should have been considered as ballooning in the regions of bombast, 
and appeared ridiculously aiming to be subhme." 

Mr, Otis, in the same admirable epistle, of which we cite only a part, 
makes very shrewd remarks on the great topic of education. "It is 
of incomparably less moment," says he, "that a few persons should 
wear the gown of the scholar, than that the great body of the commu- 
nity should be clad in the costume of fixed principles. But one cannot 
flourish without the other. Unless a due projwrtion of the people be 
educated in universities and colleges, learning must run wild. There 
might be plenty of itinerant orators and preachers to the dear people, 
and of political sportsmen to set man-traps for straggling patriots. It 
is vain to say ' the schoolmaster is abroad,' unless he is qualified for 
his vocation. When the schoolmaster has been educated at a uni- 
versity, or has otherwise, by means of instruction from scholars, become 
fit for the calling, then, indeed, he goes abroad a most respectable and 
interesting member of an honorable profession, implanting the seeds of 
religion and of morality, private and public, wherever he goes. With- 
out these, he travels, like a pedler, with bundles of trashy pamphlets 
and orations on his back, scattering his miserable wares through all the 
cottages and workshops and kitchens in the country, defrauding the 
humble purchasers. It is from the colleges that the wants of the 
legislatures, the pulpits, the courts and the school, can be most effectu- 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 197 

ally supplied. They are the mints in which the genuine bullion is 
kept, and the pure coin stamped. The pulpit, the press and the school, 
are the banks of deposit, whence it is circulated ; and, without fre- 
quent recurrence to the standards kept in the mints, they will put in 
circulation base coin and rag money, to the confusion and destruction 
of the sound currency. Let us cultivate and adhere to the principles 
taught here, and not trust to the promises of the conductors on the 
modern intellectual railroad, to grade and level the hills of science, 
and to take us along at rates that will turn our heads and break our 
bones. Let us eschew the vagaries and notions of the new schools, 
and let each of us be reminded of a quotation which Burke did not 
think unworthy of him, and be ready to say, 

« What though the flattering tapster Thomas 
Hangs his new angel two doors from us, 
As fine as painter's daub can make it. 
Thinking some traveller may mistake it ? 
I hold it both a shame and sin 
To quit the good old Angel Inn.' " 

On the year previous to graduating at college, Mr. Otis had an 
impressive interview with his noble uncle, the great advocate ; and as 
it was the last period of intercourse with him, we will quote his own 
words : "I brought James Otis in a gig from Andover to Boston, in 
the year 1782, at a period when my father and his friends thought he 
was recovered. Nothing could be more dehghtfully instructive than 
his conversation on the journey, but it was in reference chiefly to the 
study of my profession, which it Avas intended I should pursue under 
his patronage. But I went back to college. He remained at home 
for a few weeks, and was induced to go into the Court of Common 
Pleas, where, it is said, he displayed great powers in a very pathetic 
case, but, as I have learnt from those who heard him, he appeared a sun 
shorn of his beams. His house, however, became the resort of much 
company, calling to visit and converse with him. Gov. Hancock was 
particularly attentive, and forced him to dine Avith him in a very large 
party. He was observed, before this time, to become thoughtful and 
sad, lying in bed until a very late hour ; but immediately after the dinner 
there was a visible oscillation of his intellect. He was overwhelmed by 
the recollection of past days, impressed, probably, with greater force by 
the presence of Hancock and others of the convives, by the scene alto- 
17* 



198 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

gether. There was, however, no frenzy. A hint was given him, by 
my father, that he had better return to Andover ; and he Avent hke a 
lamb, where in a very short period he was struck with hghtning." 

This statement imphes that this Avas the last time of his visit to 
Boston. It is a fact, however, that his uncle was moderator of a town- 
meeting, in jNIarch, 1783. Perhaps Mr. Otis mistook the date of 
conveying him from Andover. 

The profession of law was the pursuit of his choice while at college, 
and he long anticipated the privilege of entering Temple Inns, London ; 
but the confiscation of his grandfather Gray's estate, and the derange- 
ment of his father's pecuniary affairs, consequent on the Revolution, 
crushed that hope. He, however, prepared himself for the profession 
under the guidance of Judge John Lowell, the jurist and patriot. He 
pursued his studies with an intensity of application unsurpassed by 
any young student in the courts of Suffolk, being well apprized of the 
opinions of his uncle James, Avho said once, in relation to his father, 
when he had it in view to study law, " I hold it to be of vast import- 
ance that a young man should be able to make some iclat at his 
opening. It has been observed, before I was born, if a man don't 
obtain a character in any profession soon after his first appearance, 
he hardly ever will obtain one." We will relate a remarkable fact in 
relation to his devotion to study. Mr. Bussey, afterwards an eminent 
merchant, Avho was accustomed to rise early to go to his store, often 
noticed, in passing Judge Lowell's office, a pair of shoes posted at the 
window, and soon discovered that a young man Avas engaged there in 
close study. Feeling curiosity to know Avhether he Avas engaged there 
all night, Mr. Bussey arose one morning before daybreak, and, as he 
passed, he saw the shoes were on the AvindoAv. He then ventured 
to inquire of the young law-student if he engaged there all night in 
study. On Avhich ]\Ir. Otis replied that early study in the morning 
was his decided choice. 

" On leaving college, in 1783," relates Mr. Otis, " I entered Mr. 
Lowell's ofiice as a pupil, and in the following autumn Avas graciously 
invited by him, and permitted by my father, to accompany him, Dr. 
Lloyd, and Mr. Adam Ba])cock, in a journey to Philadelphia. This 
afforded me a better opportunity of seeing him in hours of unguarded 
relaxation from the cares of business than afterAvards occurred. The 
whole journey Avas a continued scene of pleasant and instructive con- 
versation, and on his part of kind and condescending manners, spark- 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 199 

ling anecdotes, and poetical quotations. We came to New York 
before the evacuation by tlie British army was consummated. 
There Mr. Lowell found Col. Upham, aid of Sir Guy Carleton, and 
Mr. Ward Chipman, judge-advocate, as I recollect, of the British 
army, — both old acquaintances and early companions. Their inter- 
view, after eight years' separation and various fortunes, was most 
cordial. They introduced Mr. Lowell to Sir Guy, with whom he and 
my other fellow-travellers dined, with a large and splendid party of 
military and civilians, into which they had me worked, as an attache 
to the Boston delegation ; and it seemed to me as brilliant as Alexan- 
der's feast. While in New York, Mr. Lowell received the hospitahty 
and attentions of the distinguished citizens who had begun to return 
from exile. Li Philadelphia, among others, he was waited upon by 
Mr. Robert Morris, who was still in his glory, and regarded in public 
estimation next to Washington, as the man on whoso financial exer- 
tions had depended the success of the Revolution. He entertained us, 
I still hanging as a bob to the kite, at a dinner of thirty persons, in a 
style of magnificence which I have never seen equalled. I left him at 
Philadelphia, and went on an excursion to Baltimore for a few days. 
On my return to Boston, I resumed my desk and books in his office. 
At the end of my probationary term, in 1786, Mv. Amory, the partner 
of Mr. Lowell, set up on his own account. I was thereupon invited 
by Judge Lowell to take his place and business in the lower courts, 
which I gladly accepted." A few weeks after Mr. Otis had opened 
his office, the late Benjamin Bussey, already alluded to, — a gentleman 
still remembered in this city, — needing the services of a lawyer at an 
early hour in the morning, found none of the profession in their cham- 
bers but Mr. Otis, whom he consequently employed, and who was his 
advocate ever after. Mr. Otis having at this time no books, and no 
other means of obtaining any, borrowed of Mordecai M. Hayes, Esq., 
one hundred and sixteen pounds, in December, 1786, which he 
expended in purchasing a law library. At the close of his first year's 
practice at the bar, the loan was refunded out of his professional 
income. 

About this period Mr. Otis partially turned his attention to military 
tactics, and in 1787 he was elected captain of a company of young 
gentlemen, — the Light Infantry, which in 1789 escorted Washington 
on his entrance into Boston, — which station he held until 1793; 
and, presuming that the present Boston Light Infantry is a scion of 



200 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

that stock, he gave this company a splendid entertainment at his resi- 
dence, shortly before his death. He Avas an aid-de-camp to Major 
General John Brooks in Shays' Insurrection. In 1790 Mr. Otis 
married Sarah, daughter of William Foster. 

In 1792, when Mr. Otis spoke with great eloquence in town-meeting, 
at Faneuil Hall, in opposition to Gardiner's proposed instructions to 
the representatives, tolerating the drama in Boston, so strong was his 
rhetorical power, that Samuel Adams lifted up his hands in ecstasy, 
and thanked God that there was one young man willing to step forth 
in defence of the good old cause of morality and religion. At another 
town-meeting, in the Old South Church, in a period of pohtical excite- 
ment, Mr. Otis, standing amid a great throng of people, on the top of 
a pew, exclaimed, "There is ever a strong spirit of discontent among 
these democrats. Why, Mr. Moderator, I sincerely believe, if they 
were in heaven, they would forthwith rebel." On this, the famous 
Dr. Charles Jarvis, who was in the gallery, sprang upon his feet, and 
remarked, " That's good, Mr. Otis ; I should like to have said that, 
myself" 

In 1796 Mr. Otis was elected one of seven representatives from 
Boston to the State Legislature ; and in this year he was elected to 
Congress as the successor of Fisher Ames, and became a decided 
opponent of the measures of Thomas Jefferson. He was one of the 
embarrassed number who had to choose between Jefferson and Aaron 
Burr. From that period to the close of Madison's war, Mr. Otis was 
constantly in Congress ; and towards the close of Adams' administra- 
tion he was U. S. District Attorney, which station he occupied until 
he was succeeded by George Blake. 

During the prevalence of the yellow fever in Philadelphia, in 1798, 
the government was located at Trenton. In that summer, President 
John Adams visited his seat in Quincy : and whilst there, Mr. Otis, 
one morning, meeting his friend William Lee in State-street, Boston, 
who was an auditor of the treasury at Washington, and a decided 
opponent of IMr. Adams, proposed to him to ride out and present their 
respects to the president. Mr. Lee objected, on account of the pohtical 
stand he had taken against the federal administration, and presuming 
he would not be a welcome visiter to liis excellency just at that time. 
Mr. Otis replied that himself being a strong advocate to the president's 
principles was a sufficient passport, not only to the president, but to 
the whole Essex junto. This decided Mr. Lee to visit Quincy with 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 201 

Mr. Otis. On arriving, they found George Cabot, with a committee 
of the old Essex junto, who had come out to remonstrate against the 
appointment of Elbridge Gerry's mission abroad. Mr. Otis, with his 
friend Lee, entered the room in the midst of the president's reply to 
the committee. He most cordially received them ; and, after invitino- 
them to be seated, turned to the committee, and continued in warm 
terms his positive and fixed determination in favor of Mr. Gerry. 
Otis, seeing the committee wince at the strong expressions from the 
president, and thinking himself an intruder in the eyes of the discom- 
fited committee, all of whom were his political friends, gave a wink to 
Lee that it was high time to retire ; and, taking a hasty leave of the 
president and his speech to the Federal committee, returned to Boston 
highly elated ; and from that day Lee became a convert to the Adams 
dynasty, for the independent course which the president pursued 
towards the Essex junto committee. 

Li the year 1802, a political vilifier of Harrison Gray Otis publicly 
declared that he was a member from the royal State of Massachusetts, 
who labored, with all the cunning of a quibbling attorney, to have the 
alien bill passed into a law. This man, it was said, is not entirely 
devoid of fancy, but is a stranger to argument, and unacquainted with 
the virtues of truth and candor. The interested British merchants, it 
is reported, procured him to be one of the directors of the Bank of the 
United States ; and several pecuniary favors which he has granted these 
gentlemen in return prove that he possesses in an eminent degree the 
qualification of gratitude, and a bountiful hand to his friends. He is 
neither devoid of filial affection, if we may judge from his petty man- 
oeuvres to procure an addition of two hundred dollars to the salary of 
his father. But the fear he expresses of the Frenchmen, and his 
hatred at Irishmen, are the two striking characteristics of his mind. 
In the summer of 1798, Mr. Otis so much dreaded a French invasion, 
that it is said he would have removed into some of the back settle- 
ments, had it not been for the persuasion of Dwight Foster and George 
Thacher. " No man," says Callender, one of the rudest and coarsest 
pohticians of that day, " can be more ambitious to bo the scavenger of 
his party than this calumniator of the Irish nation. Mr. Otis has 
since obtained his wish, for no man is more employed in rallying and 
collecting together the scattered dregs of Federalism than Harrison 
Gray Otis." 

The most decided refutation of vituperative slander, like that in the 



202 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

paragraph preceding, appears in tlie eloquent eulogium of Samuel L. 
Knapp, who remarked of Harrison Gray Otis, that "from his cradle, 
as from Plato's, swarmed the Ilyblcan bees, and left the honeys of elo- 
quence on his tongue. Minerva was his tutelar goddess, but the 
Graces had no small share in his education. His political course was 
early shaped; and from the dawn of manhood to this his meridian day, 
he has been a firm, undeviating disciple of Washington. Long in pub- 
lic life, he has constantly been the champion of the cause he espoused. 
In every political contest he has carried terror and dismay into the 
ranks of his opponents, searched the dark caverns of corruption and 
intrigue, and dragged, with Herculean strength, each Cacus to the 
light, and held him up for the contempt and derision of the world. 
Democracy knew his worth, and has used every endeavor to allure him 
to come over to her cause. Mighty meeds of honor have been hinted 
as his rewards, but he did not yield. "We love him, for he has fre- 
quently turned aside from his labors, and, with reverence and homage, 
sacrificed at the tomb of the immortal Hamilton. No envy, which 
disturbs little minds, chafed his breast ; but, penetrated with grief, he 
shed upon Hamilton's grave such tears as genius weeps at the loss of 
kindred souls." 

Mr. Otis was elected Speaker of the House in 1803 until 1805, and 
President of the Senate in 1805, which stations he filled during twelve 
years, with grace, dignity, and urbanity. He was appointed judge of 
the Court of Common Pleas, on its institution in 1814, and continued 
in that vocation until April, 1818, when he was succeeded by Wilham 
Prescott, the father of the historian. 

The most important event in the political life of Mr. Otis was his 
connection with the Hartford Convention. He was chairman of the 
legislative committee which, October, 1814, urged arguments in fiivor 
of calling a convention of the New England States, because of internal 
difiiculties arising from the war with Great Britain. He was a member 
of this convention, which gathered at Hartford, Dec. 15th of that year, 
when Hon. George Cabot was elected president. The nature of this 
conclave may be apprehended from the instructions extended to com- 
missioners sent to the General Government, January, 1815, by this 
State and Connecticut. Mr. Otis, Thomas H. Perkins, and Wilham 
Sullivan, represented Massachusetts in this matter. They were 
instructed to make earnest and respectful application to the government 
of the United States, requesting their consent to some arrangement 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 203 

whereby the State of Massachusetts, separately, or in concert with 
neighboring States, may be enabled to assume the defence of their ter- 
ritories against the enemy; and that, to this end, a reasonable portion 
of the taxes collected within said States may be paid into the respective 
treasuries thereof, and appropriated to the payment of the balance due 
to the said States, and to the future defence of the same, — the amount 
so paid into the treasuries to be credited, and the disbursements so 
made to be charged, to the United States. The commissioners were 
farther required to consult with, and to solicit the assistance and coop- 
eration of, the senators and representatives of this commonwealth in 
the Congress of the United States. The commission was dated Jan. 
31, 1815. The commissioners had just arrived at Washington, about 
the 14th of February, when the joyful news of peace was proclaimed, 
thus rendering nugatory the necessity of their object ; and this result 
was doubtless hastened by a fear of the consequences of this conven- 
tion. 

The popular clamor was forthwith raised against the Hartford Con- 
tion, accusing its managers of an attempt to dissolve the Union ; and, 
at a national festival of the Washington Society, a democratic leader 
said that it was a dangerous combination of internal foes, who had art- 
fully entwisted themselves within the legitimate branches of our federal 
and State governments. And the charge has been reiterated — Novem- 
ber, 1850 — by another democratic leader, the moderator of a party 
caucus at Faneuil Hall, that the Hartford Convention designed a north- 
ern confederacy, involving an entire change in the organization of our 
institutions. The lively and forcible language of Fisher Ames, that 
falsehood will travel from Maine to Georgia while truth is putting on 
her boots, was fully verified in the early efibrts to assert the patriotic 
intent of this assembly. The inquiry has often been urged. Was not 
the Hartford Convention conceived by that constellation of veiy estima- 
ble and talented men, the Essex junto, as it was brought forth by that 
lesser light, the Bay State Legislature of Caleb Strong ? We will 
cite Mr. Otis on this question. The convention was not the plan or 
contrivance of one man, or of a junto, or cabal ; but a simultaneous 
and instinctive conception of many, prompted by the nature and the 
imagined necessity of the case. 

The surpassingly eloquent defence of the Hartford Convention, from 
the highly-polished hand of Harrison Gray Otis, like his speeches, — 
or, rather, orations, as they should be termed, — so often pronounced 



204 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

at Faneuil Hall, in the halls of Congress, and in our State Legislature, 
for force and beauty of argument, will be treasured by posterity among 
the noblest efforts of patriotism ; and posterity will rank the epistles of 
Junius and Otis, for purity of diction, effective sarcasm and elevation of 
thought, as models of diction, in both hemispheres. IMoreover, the 
speeches of Otis, when Napoleon was in the zenith of his power, 
awakened in the Bostonians a keen jealousy of his thirst for conquest, 
and remind one of the eloquence of Demosthenes, when rousing the 
Athenians to precautions against the ambition of Philip of Macedon. 

Mr. Otis remarks that his mission to Hartford was forced upon him 
by three-fourths of the Massachusetts Legislature, against his most 
earnest remonstrances, and to the great sacrifice of his convenience. 
The germ of the expedient may be traced to Gov. Jones, of Rhode 
Island, who, in September, 1814, proposed to this State, in case of 
invasion, to march his troops to the aid of any neighboring State, and 
requested the cooperation of our State in like emergency. The great 
objects of the convention were, to devise, if possible, means of security 
and defence, consistent with preservation from total ruin, adapted to 
their local situation, and not repugnant to their obligations as members 
of the Union. The faculty of defending the States by their own 
militia, and at the expense of the United States, has since been sanc- 
tioned by Congress. Mr. Otis says, here is a curious subject of specu- 
lation for posterity. The principal measure of an assembly intended, 
as was said, to concentrate all the force of opposition to the constituted 
authorities of the nation, was, by deliberate act of those authorities, 
virtually adopted ; and the egg that was laid in the darkness of the 
Hartford conclave Avas hatched by daylight, under the wing and 
incubation of the national eagle. Those who serve the State in the 
civil department have no court of inquiry, like those in the naval and 
military service, for protection, but are at the mercy of every popinjay, 
says Otis, who can throw a squib or discharge an air-gun from a garret 
window, — of editors who pander for the bad passions of party, and for 
rivals who humble themselves to imitate thestarhngs and halloo " Mor- 
timer," instead of giving an elevated tone to the public sentiment, in 
which all men of high minds, even of their own party, would be glad 
to harmonize. 

There is no doubt that this convention was influenced by a decided 
love of country, and, of course, by the most honorable motives. Another 
serious object of this convention was to prevent the danger of a civil 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 205 

war, as in the western parts of Massachusetts and in Connecticut there 
was a decided opposition to an internal tax, for the purpose of contin- 
uing the contest with Great Britain. We make this statement on the 
authority of the Hon. Judge Wilde, probably the last survivor of the 
delegates to the convention. " I am sensible, ' ' remarks Mr. Otis, ' ' that 
among such men I was not meet to be called an 'Apostle.' But hav- 
ing nothing to retract, no favors to ask, no propitiatory incense to offer 
upon new altars, I hope there will be seen neither vanity nor conde- 
scension in my declaring that I am unconscious of any conduct that 
would justify the singhng me out as a political desperado, who offered 
to the convention projects by which they were revolted. I challenge 
the production or quotation of any speech or writing for which I am 
accountable, without garbhng or interpolation, conspicuous for unseemly 
violence, intolerance, or even disrespect for my political adversaries ; 
much less, pointing to a disunion of the States, which I should dread 
as a national and perpetual earthquake. In the ardor of debate, I have 
repelled personalities by giving ' measure for measure ; ' but if I am 
inimical to republican principles and equal rights, I must have basely 
degenerated from my parent stock. And though I claim no merit 
from ' geims et j)roavos^ yet, that I should go into the convention 
to instigate others to pull down that ' temple ' which, for at least 
forty-and-two years, my ancestors with their countrymen had been 
engaged in building, from the first trench and corner-stone, and in 
which I had always professed to worship, would seem to be an unnatu- 
ral act, at least, of Avhich all just men will one day require better proof 
than has been or can be furnished by the unjust. My political sins 
are those of congresses, senates, and houses of representatives, — of a 
majority of the people, first of the United States, then of my native 
State and city. Of my full aliquot part of these, I would nothing 
extenuate, and more should not be set down to me in malice. I have 
lived to see triumphant all the principles of the great original Federal 
party, of which Washington was the head, and of which I was an indi- 
vidual member, though, by the perversity of the course of human 
affairs, I have survived the downfall of the party itself There is no 
prominent feature of Federal pohcy, — unless the ahen and sedition law 
be so regarded, by means of a factitious importance, — which the ruhng 
party has not found itself compelled to adopt, and place in a bolder 
relief The funding system, bank, navy, army, loans, taxes, embas- 
sies, — in short, whatever appertaining to the civil and military estab- 
18 



206 THE HUNDKED BOSTON OKATORS. 

lishments was formerly a theme of opposition, — have been patronized 
not merely as appendages, but essentials to the machinery of govern- 
ment. All the hydras and chimeras are transformed into goodly 
shapes and proper agents. And not a question has been decided — nor, 
as far as I am informed, agitated — upon old party principles, since the 
peace." 

Let it never be forgotten that the very system recommended by the 
Hartford Convention became, by act of Congress, the law of the land, 
and its eifect has been to consolidate the national union ; and though Mr. 
Otis has often been denounced by political Hotspurs, in public caucus, 
as an enemy to his country, posterity in all coming time will simulta- 
neously concede the purity of his motives, and exclaim, in their pro- 
found sense of his honesty, like Aufidius in Shakspeare : 

" If Jupiter should, from j'ond cloud. 
Speak divine things, and say 't is true, 
I' d not believe them more than thee, all noble Marcius ! " 

President John Quincy Adams declared, in a communication under 
his authority, in the National Intelligencer of Oct. 21, 1828, that 
during the session of Congress in 1808 he had informed his confiden- 
tial correspondents that he knew, from unequivocal evidence, although 
not provable in a court of law, that the object of certain leaders of the 
party which had in its hands the management of the Legislature of 
Massachusetts was, and had been for several years, "a dissolution of 
the Union, and the estabhshment of a separate confederation ; and that, 
in case of a civil war, the aid of Great Britain to eifect that purpose 
would be as surely resorted to as it would be indispensably necessary 
to the design." And in a communication addressed to the following 
persons, namely, H. G. Otis, Israel Thorndike, T. H. Perkins, Wil- 
liam Prescott, Daniel Sargent, John Lowell, Wilham Sullivan, Charles 
Jackson, Warren Dutton, Benjamin Pickman, Henry Cabot (son of 
Hon. George Cabot), C. C. Parsons (son of Chief Justice Theophilus 
Parsons), Franklin Dexter (son of Hon. Samuel Dexter), who had 
requested him to state who are the persons designated as leaders of the 
party prevaihng in Massachusetts in the year 1808, whose object, he 
asserted, was, and had been for several years, a dissolution of the 
Union, and the estabhshment of a separate confederation, together Avith 
the whole evidence on which that charge is founded, — at the same 
time protesting that, constrained by a regard to their deceased friends 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 207 

and to posterity, as well as by a sense of what was due to their own 
honor, most solemnly to declare that they have never known nor sus- 
pected that any party in Massachusetts ever entertained the design of 
a dissolution of the Union, or the establishment of a separate confed- 
eracy, — President Adams replied : "That project, I repeat, had gone to 
the length of fixing upon a military leader for its execution; and, 
although the circumstances of the time never admitted of its execution, 
nor even of its full development, I had yet no doubt in 1808 and 
1809, and have no doubt at this time, that it is the key to all the great 
movements of these leaders of the Federal party in New England, from 
that time forward till its final catastrophe in the Hartford Convention." 
And President Adams said, in the conclusion of his letter : " It is 
not improbable that, at some future day, a solemn sense of duty to my 
country may require me to disclose the evidence which I do possess, 
and for which you call. But of that day the selection must be at my 
own judgment ; and it may be delayed till I myself shall have gone to 
answer for the testimony I may bear, before the tribunal of your God 
and mine. Should a disclosure of names ever then be made by me, it 
will, if possible, be made with such reserve as tenderness to the feelings 
of the living, and to the famihes and friends of the dead, may admon- 
ish." The evidence in support of this opinion of John Quincy Adams 
never having to this day been exhibited, and it being admitted that 
it is not such as would suffice to establish the charge in a court of 
justice, the opinion remains, for all purposes of evidence, utterly inef- 
fective. We have the charity to express the opinion that President 
Adams over-estimated the weight of the evidence on which he relied, 
— an opinion which, at the worst, does him no injustice, since, should 
it be well founded, his mistake of judgment would be like that of 
heated partisans of every name and age. The origin of the whole 
mystery is probably traceable to the disclosures of John Henry, an 
officer in the British army, who, in the year 1809, was employed by 
Sir James Craig, the Governor of Canada, to visit the United States for 
the purpose of ascertaining whether the dominant party of New Eng- 
land would favor a dissolution of the Union, and a connection with 
Great Britain. We refer our readers to D wight's History of the Hart- 
ford Convention, and to Walsh's review of that work in the American 
Quarterly Review, for a clear development of this subject. In reply 
to the inquiry. Why not leave the honor of the Hartford Convention 
where Ford's heroine left her fame, "to Memory, and Time's old 



208 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATOKS. 

daughter, Truth " ? — Mr. Walsh says, in reply, for the simple reason 
that all experience has taught us that memory is always defective, and 
truth frequently perverted. Already, in the case before us, newspaper 
surmises have gradually grown up into rhetorical text ; and these, by 
dint of repetition, are fast forming into materials for history. 

In the year 1817 J\Ir. Otis was elected, by a strong vote of the State 
Legislature, to the United States Senate, in the place of Gen. Joseph 
B. Vai-num, the successor of Timothy Pickering. Here Mr. Otis 
shone with peculiar lustre, for his force as a statesman and graceful 
rhetoric. His speech in reply to Mr. Pinckney, on the Missouri ques- 
tion, January, 1820, was a noble burst of eloquence, in a caveat on 
slavery, classed among the imperishable few of the floor of Congress. 
He was ever devoted to the interest of his native State, especially in 
asserting her claims in public service during the contest with Britain. 
Mr. Otis resigned his seat in 1823 ; and, on the retirement of John 
Brooks from the chair of State, he became the Federal candidate, in 
competition with William Eustis. Mr. Otis was defeated; and he 
remarked to a friend, " My failure in this contest was a mortification 
and a severe disappointment to me at the time, but I look back upon 
it now without regret. I regard it as the most fortunate event of my 
life. I have been a happier and better man, since I was thrown out of 
pohtical life, than I should ever have been had I remained in it." 

Mr. Otis was elected mayor of his native city in 1829, and in the 
inaugural address dehvered on the occasion he remarks: "With the 
friends of former days, whose constancy can never be forgotten, others 
have been pleased to unite, and to honor me with their suffrages, who 
hold in high disapprobation the part I formerly took in pohtical affairs. 
Their support of me on this occasion is no symptom of a change of 
their sentiment in that particular. I presume not to infer from it even 
a mitigation of the rigor Avith which my pubhc conduct has been 
judged. But it is not presumptuous to take it for granted that those 
who have favored me with their countenance on this occasion confide 
in my sense of the obligation of veracity, and of the aggravated prof- 
ligacy that would attend a violation of it, standing here in the presence 
of God and my country. On this faith, I feel myself justified by cir- 
cumstances to avail myself of this occasion, — the first, and probably 
the last, so appropriate, that it will be in my power, — distinctly and 
solemnly to assert, that in no time in the course of my life have I 
been present at any meeting of individuals, pubhc or private, of the 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 209 

many or tlie few, or privy to any correspondence of whatever descrip- 
tion in -whicli any proposition having for its object the dissolution of 
the Union, or its dismemberment in any shape, or a separate confed- 
eracy, or a forcible resistance to the government or laws, was ever 
made or debated; that I have no reason to believe that any such 
scheme was ever meditated by distinguished individuals of the old Fed- 
eral party. But, on the other hand, every reason which habits of 
intimacy and communion of sentiment with most of them aiforded, for 
the persuasion that they looked to the remote possibility of such events 
as the most to be deprecated of all calamities, and that they would 
have received any serious proposal, calculated for those ends, as a par- 
oxysm of political delirium. This statement will bear internal evi- 
dence of truth to all who reflect that among' those men were some by 
the firesides of whose ancestors the principles of the union and inde- 
pendence of these States were first asserted and digested ; from which 
was taken the coal that kindled the hallowed flame of the Revolution; 
from whose ashes the American eagle rose into life. Others, who had 
conducted the measures and the armies of that Revolution, — Solo- 
mons in council, and Samsons in combat ; others, who assisted at the 
birth of the federal constitution, and watched over its infancy with 
paternal anxiety ; — and, I may add, to the best of my knowledge and 
belief that all of them regarded its safety and success as the best hope 
of this people, and the last hope of the friends of liberty throughout 
the world. I again express my hope that these remarks will not be 
considered ill-timed. They are a testimony oifercd in defence of the 
memory of the honored dead, and of patriotic survivors, who have not 
the same opportunity of speaking for themselves. Their object is not 
personal favor, though I am free to admit that I am not indifferent to 
the desire of removing doubts and giving satisfaction to the minds of 
any who, by a magnanimous pledge of kind feelings toward me, have a 
claim upon me for every candid explanation and assurance in my power 
to afford." 

In this connection, we cannot restrain the desire to introduce an 
instance of the condescension and courtesy of Mr. Otis towards his 
political opponents. At a festival of Federal advocates of the admin- 
istration of Andrew Jackson, in Faneuil Hall, when it was splendidly 
decorated with the banners of the old Washington Benevolent Society, 
March 4, 1829, Mr. Otis, the mayor, gave— "Homage to the con- 
stitution, manifested in respect to its chief functionary : May New 
18* 



210 THE nUXDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

England conquer his esteem, as he conquered the public enemy, by 
meeting him more than half-way." And when Mr. Otis had retired, 
the Hon. Theodore Lyman, who presided on the occasion, gave this 
sentiment — " The Mayor : May the discerning citizens of Boston ren- 
der full justice to his patriotic endeavors for the welfare of a city of 
which he has so long been a conspicuous ornament.'" 

On the morning of the 17th day of September, 1830, just previous 
to the delivery of the centennial discourse on the history of Boston, by 
Josiah Quincy, an address was delivered by Mr. Otis, the mayor, on 
the removal of the municipal government to the old State-house, in 
which he chronicles the men and the occurrences giving celebrity to the 
edifice, thereafter named the City Hall, until its removal to Court- 
square. We will cite a few passages from this graphic view of remem- 
brances : The history of the town-house, considered as a compages of 
brick and wood, is short and simple. It was erected between the years 
1657 and '59, and was principally of wood, as far as can be ascer- 
tained. The contractor received six hundred and eighty pounds, on a 
final settlement, in full of all contracts. This was probably the whole 
amount of the cost, being double that of the estimate, — a ratio pretty 
regularly kept up in our times. The population of the town, sixty 
years afterwards, was about ten thousand; and it is allowing an 
increase beyond the criterion of its actual numbers at subsequent peri- 
ods, to presume that at the time of the first erection of the Town-house 
it numbered three thousand souls. In 1711 the building was burnt 
to the ground, and soon afterwards it was built with brick. In 1747 
the interior was again consumed by fire, and soon repaired in the form 
which it retained until the present improvement, with the exception of 
some alterations in the apartments made upon the removal of the Leg- 
islature to the new State-house. The eastern chamber was originally 
occupied by the Council, afterwards by the Senate. The representa- 
tives constantly held their sittings in the western chamber. The floor 
of these was supported by pillars, and terminated at each end by doors, 
and at one end by a flight of steps leading into State-street. In the 
day-time the doors were kept open, and the floor served as a walk for 
the inhabitants, always much frequented, and during the sessions of 
the courts thronged. On the north side were oflSces for the clerks of 
the supreme and inferior courts. In these the judges robed them- 
selves, and walked in procession, followed by the bar, at the opening 
of the courts. Committee-rooms were provided in the upper story. 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 211 

Since the removal of the Legislature, it has been internally divided 
into apartments and leased for various uses, in a mode familiar to you 
all, and it has now undergone great repairs. This floor being adapted 
to the acconmiodation of the city government and principal officers, 
while the first floor is allotted to the post-office, news-room, and private 
warehouses. 

" In this brief account of the natural body of the building, which, it is 
believed, comprehends whatever is material, there is nothing certainly 
dazzling or extraordinary. It exhibits no pomp of architectural grand- 
eur, or refined taste ; and has no pretensions to vie with the magnifi- 
cent structures of other countries, or even of our own. Yet it is a 
goodly and venerable pile ; and, with its recent improvements, is an 
ornament of the place of whose liberty it was once the citadel. And 
it has an interest for Bostonians who enter it this day, like that which 
is felt by grown children for an ancient matron by whom they were 
reared, and whom visiting after years of absence, they find in her neat, 
chaste, old-fashioned attire, spruced-up to receive them, with her com- 
forts about her, and the same kind, hospitable creature and excellent, 
whom they 'left in' less flourishing circumstances. But to this 
edifice there is not only a natural, but ' a spiritual body,' which is 
the immortal soul of independence. Nor is there on the face of the 
earth another building, — however venerable for its antiquity, or stately 
in its magnificence, however decorated by columns, and porticos, and 
cartoons, and statues, and altars, and outshining ' the wealth of Ormus 
or of Ind,' — entitled in history to more honorable mention, or whose 
spires and turrets are surrounded with a more glorious halo, than this 
unpretending building. 

"This assertion might be justified by a review of the parts performed 
by those who have made laws, for a century after the first settlement 
of Boston ; of their early contention for their chartered rights ; of their 
perils and difficulties with the natives; of their costly and heroic 
exertions, in favor of the mother country, in the common cause. But 
I pass over them all, replete as they are with interest, with wonder, and 
with moral. Events posterior to these — growing out of them, indeed, 
and taking from them their complexion — are considered, by reflecting 
men, as having produced more radical changes in the character, rela- 
tions, prospects, and, so far as becomes us to prophesy, in the destinies 
of the human family, than all other events and revolutions that have 
transpired since the Christian era. I do not say that the principles 



212 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

which have led to these events originated here. But I venture to 
assert that here, within these walls, they were first practically applied 
to a well-regulated machinery of human passions, conscious rights and 
steady movements, which, forcing these United States to the summit 
of prosperity, has been adopted as a model by which other nations have 
been, and will yet be, propelled on the railroad which leads to universal 
freedom. The power of these engines is self-moving, and the motion is 
perpetual. Sages and philosophers had discovered that the world was 
made for the people wha inhabit it, and that kings were less entitled 
in their own right to its government, than lions, whose claims to be 
lords of the forest are supported by physical prowess. But the books . 
and treatises which maintained these doctrines were read by the admir- 
ers of the Lockes, and Sidneys, and Miltons, and Harringtons, and 
replaced on their shelves as brilliant theories. Or, if they impelled to 
occasional action, it ended in bringing new tyrants to the throne, and 
sincere patriots to the scaffold. But your progenitors, who occupied 
these seats, first taught a whole people systematically to combine the 
united force of their moral and physical energies, to learn the rights of 
insurrection not as written in the language of the passions, but in 
codes and digests of its justifiable cases ; to enforce them, under the 
restraints of discipline ; to define and limit its objects ; to be content 
with success, and to make sure of its advantages. All this they did ; 
and when the propitious hour had arrived, they called on their coun- 
trymen, as the angel called upon the apostles, ' Come, rise up quickly ! 
— and the chains fell from their hands.' The inspiring voice echoed 
through the welkin in Europe and America, and awakened nations. 
He who would learn the effects of it must read the history of the 
world for the last half-century. He who would anticipate the conse- 
quences must ponder well the probabilities with which time is preg- 
nant, for the next. The memory of these men is entitled to a full 
share of all the honor arising from the advantage derived to mankind 
from this change of condition, but yet is not chargeable with the crimes 
and misfortunes, more than is the memory of Fulton with the occa- 
sional bursting of a boiler. 

" Shall I, then, glance rapidly at some of the scenes, and the 
actors who figured in them, within these walls ? Shall I carry you 
back to the controversies between Gov. Bernard and the House of 
Representatives, commencing nearly seventy years ago, respecting the 
claims of the mother country to tax the colonies without their consent ? 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 213 

To the stand made against writs of assistance, in tlie chamber now 
intended for your mayor and aldermen, where and when, according to 
John Adams, ' Independence was born,' and whose star was then 
seen in the east by wise men. To the memorable vindication of the 
House of Representatives by one of its members? To the "Rights 
of the Colonies," adopted by the Legislature as a text-book, and trans- 
mitted to the British ministiy ? To the series of patriotic resolutions, 
protests, and State papers, teeming with indignant eloquence and irre- 
sistible argument in opposition to the stamp and other tax acts — to 
the landing and quartering of troops in the town 7 To the rescinding 
of resolutions in obedience to royal mandates ? To the removal of the 
seat of government, and the untiring struggle in which the Legislature 
was engaged for fourteen or fifteen years, supported by the Adamses, 
the Thachers, the Hawleys, the Hancocks, the Bowdoins, the Quincys, 
and their illustrious colleagues 7 In fact, the most important measures 
which led to the emancipation of the colonies, according to Hutchinson, 
a competent judge, originated in this house, in this apartment, with 
those men who, putting life and fortune on the issue, adopted for their 
motto 

* Let such, such only, tread this sacred floor, 
Who dare to love their country and be poor.' 

" Events of a different complexion are also associated with the Boston 
Town-house. At one time it was desecrated by the king's troops 
quartered in the Representatives' chamber, and on the lower floor. 
At another time, cannon were stationed and pointed towards its doors. 
Below the balcony in King-street, on the doleful night of the fifth of 
March, the blood of the first victims to the military executioners was 
shed. On the appearance of the governor in the street, he was sur- 
rounded by an immense throng, who, to prevent mischief to liis person, 
though he had lost their confidence, forced him into this building, with 
the cry, 'To the Town-House! to the Town-House!' He then 
went forth into the balcony, and, promising to use his endeavors to 
bring the offenders to justice, and advising the people to retire, they 
dispersed, vociferating ' Home ! home ! ' The Governor and Council 
remained all night deliberating in dismal conclave, while the friends of 
their country bedewed their pillows with tears, ' such tears as patriots 
shed for dying laws.' But I would not wish, under any circumstances, 
to dwell upon incidents hke these, thankful as I am that time, which 



214 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

has secured our freedom, has extinguished our resentments. I there- 
fore turn from these painful reminiscences; and refer you to the day 
when Independence, mature in age and lovehness, advanced with angelic 
grace from the chamber in which she was born, into the same balcony ; 
and, holding in her hand the immortal scroH on which her name and 
character and claims to her inheritance were inscribed, received, from 
the street filled with an impenetrable phalanx, and windows glittering 
with a blaze of beauty, the heartfelt homage and electrifying peals of 
the men, women and children, of the whole city. The splendor of that 
glorious vision of my childhood seems to be now present to my view, 
and the harmony of universal concert to vibrate in my ear." 

When our immortal Webster, — that presiding genius of the consti- 
tution, often characterized as the modern Dexter, — on the decision of 
the Whig party, in the presidential contest, to adopt Zachary Taylor 
as their candidate, exclaimed, in the heat of disappointed ambition, 
that it was a nomination not fit to be made, thus exciting confusion in 
the minds of the party, our venerable octogenarian, the Hon. Mr. 
Otis, in a magnanimous spirit of conciliation, addressed an epistle to 
the pubhc, in the style of freshness, beauty and effect, so peculiar to 
him before the prime of life, advocating the expediency of this nomina- 
tion. It had a tendency to unite the party, and insure the elevation of 
Zachary Taylor ; and this last generous act of his life so overpowered 
his mind, that it accelerated his decease, written as it was under the 
pressure of years and infirmity. " The general objections to placing a 
military chieftain at the head of the nation are two-fold," says Mr. 
Otis, in this document : " first, the apprehension that the habits of 
absolute authority may be carried from the field to the cabinet, — that 
he may thus be inclined to say, ' I am the State ; ' and, if he cannot 
bend the constitution to his will, to pierce it with his sword. But a 
soldier of this species, before he is intrusted with civil offices, displays 
his character sufficiently to give warning. Like the rattlesnake, he 
may be known by his notes of preparation ; and if the people will incur 
a danger equal to plague, pestilence and fiimine, it is their own fault. 
Second, the want of political experience, and other qualifications for a 
new sphere of action. But, for these, the constituency must generally 
take its chance. In our country, few persons ' make commonwealth's 
affairs their only study.' Politics are not a regular profession for 
which men are educated, though too many make it a trade. This 
last objection, therefore, apphes to all other professions. Eminence 



HAERISON GRAY OTIS. 215 

in either of them, especially of the bar, is regarded as an earnest 
of ability adequate to the most elevated station. Yet a great lawyer, 
in full practice, can do little more, if so much, to qualify himself for a 
new vocation, than a general. They will each have acquired a knowl- 
edge of the current of affairs from the public journals and from inter- 
course with others ; and neither Avill have been able to do more. The 
soldier, perhaps, has most leisure for such pursuits, except in time of 
actual war. The studies and occupation of the lawyer seem to be 
most congenial to those of a civil chieftain ; yet great names may be 
found to contend that these very studies and pursuits contract the 
mind of the practical jurist, and impair his qualifications for enlarged 
views of civil administration and adroit diplomacy. 

"The truth, however, is, that a truly great man will always show 
himself great. The talents called forth by the strategy of a succession 
of military campaigns, in a country new and unexplored, and inacces- 
sible by ordinary means, where resources must be created, and embar- 
rassments not to be foreseen are constantly met and surmounted, 
would easily accommodate themselves to the varying, though less 
difficult exigencies of civil affairs. For myself, I rest satisfied that 
General Taylor would be found fully competent to the office of presi- 
dent, for the same reasons that I think Daniel Webster would make a 
great general. Each would require some little training and experience, 
in a new harness, and, perhaps, a good deal of consultation with others. 
History is replete Avith heroes transformed into statesmen. Who is 
unacquainted with the agency and influence of the great Marlborough, 
in the councils as well as in the wars of Queen Anne 7 Where did 
the greater Duke of Wellington qualify himself to settle the peace of 
Europe, which he had won by his sword, associated in congress with 
emperors and kings, and the most accomplished diplomatists from the 
principal cabinets of the old world '? And whence did he derive the 
faculty which since that period has been displayed, in the intuitive 
sagacity with which he has controlled the measures of the British 
cabinet and peerage, and enabled his country to persevere in her 
career of power and glory, despite the most novel and serious embar- 
rassments ? In what school did the great Napoleon acquire the 
knowledge of affairs which enabled him to hold the strings of his 
administration in his own hands, to reform the interior management of 
the whole empire, and to preside in a council of the most distinguished 
jurists and civilians in the formation of the civil code, himself initiating 



216 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

some of the most essential improvements ? Finally, our own great 
Washington was a Samson in combat before he became a Solomon in 
council. On very mature reflection, I am satisfied that General 
Taylor, in a short time after he shall have taken the chair, will acquit 
himself of his high duties to the entire public satisfaction. 

" It is further objected that General Taylor is a slave-holder. This 
objection comes sixty years too late. It was disposed of in substance 
by the original articles of confederation, and annulled in form by the 
constitution of the United States. The Northern States were glad 
enough to avail themselves of the cooperation of the South in their 
struggle for independence, and 'no questions asked.' Not less thankful 
were they to cement the incipient alliance by a most solemn compact, 
expressly recognizing their right to property in their slaves, and engag- 
ing to protect it, — treating with them, as proprietors of slaves, as our 
equals in all respects, and eligible, of consequence, to all ofBces under 
the constitution. What would have been the fate of a motion in that 
glorious assembly which formed the constitution, or of those who might 
have made it, — George Washington present, — to declare a slave-holder 
ineligible to any office under it 7 I well remember the adoption of the 
constitution by my fellow-citizens of the State, when Hancock, muffled 
in red baize, was brought into the convention, to sign the ratification. 
The evening preceding, a demonstration in favor of the measure was 
made in the streets of Boston, by an assemblage favorable to it, whose 
numbers, Paul Revere assured Samuel Adams, were like the sands of 
the sea-shore, or like the stars in heaven." 

This vigorous document was published on Oct. 2, and the decease 
of Otis occurred on the 28th day of that month. His remains were 
entombed at Mount Auburn. He was aged 83 years and twenty days. 

" Of no distemper, of no blast, he died. 
But fell like autumn fruit that mellowed long, — 
E'en wondered at, because he dropped no sooner ; 
Fate seemed to wind him up to fourscore years. 
Yet freshly ran he on three winters more, 
TiU, like a clock worn out with eating time. 
The wheels of weaiy life at last stood still." 

Old Faneuil Hall will ever be memorable as the forum whence, with 
a voice of silvery sweetness, the flashes of wit and stirring eloquence of 
our Boston Cicero captivated the people. Like Cicero, our Otis was 
by nature a statesman ; but the honestly-conceived Hartford Conven- 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 217 

tion, of which he was the most powerful advocate, blighted his political 
elevation above that of the Senate in Congress. Otis, however, was the 
pride of the Bostonians ; and, while many a political opponent, both 
from the press and the rostrum, to use the words of our native poet, 
Sprague, 

" Soils tlie green garlands that for Otis bloom, 
And plants a brier even on Cabot's tomb," 

we are confident that posterity will view him as a luminous star in 
the constellation of American patriots. He was never rivalled for 
eloquence by any politician of his native city, or any of his native 
State, excepting only his noble kinsman, and the accomplished Fisher 
Ames. The contour of liis head was beautiful, with animated eyes, 
and a ruddy complexion. He was rather tall, of noble bearing, grace- 
ful gestures, and courteous manners. A full-length portrait of Otis is 
in the care of the Massachusetts Mechanics' Charitable Association, and 
an accurate portrait by Stuart is in the family. William Sullivan aptly 
remarks of him, that he was the orator of all popular assemblies, — the 
guide of popular opinion in all the trying scenes of commercial restric- 
tions, embargo, and war. With a fine person and commanding elo- 
quence, with a clear perception and patriotic purpose, he was the first 
among his equals, alike ready at all times with his pen and his tongue. 
And Samuel K. Lothrop, his pastor, says of him, that the action and 
play of his mental power was so easy, that one was apt to forget the 
profound and subtle nature of the subjects with which he was dealing. 
His power of nice analysis and sharp discrimination was extraordinary, 
and the broad and deep wisdom of his thought was often as remarkable 
as the language in which he clothed it was brilliant and beautiful. 
The biography of Harrison Gray Otis remains to be written. It was 
well said of him, at the Harvard centennial, by William H. Gard- 
iner, that he was the first scholar of the first class of a new nation, 
the career of whose life has been according to the promise of his youth; 
who has touched nothing which he has not adorned, and who has been 
rewarded with no office, nor honor, nor emolument, to which he was 
not richly entitled. 

19 



218 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

GEN. WILLIAM HULL. 

JULY 4, 1788. FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI. 

The patriotic appeal of the orator to his companions in arms 
arouses in their descendants an impressive conception of the burning 
ardor of our Revolutionary heroes : The return of this joyful anniver- 
sary, my dear friends and companions, vrill naturally recall to your 
minds the various interesting scenes which have fallen to your lot 
■while on the theatre of action. The rugged and thorny paths you 
have together trod, — the dangerous but honorable part you have been 
called to act, — the mingled emotions Avhich have been excited, while 
the fate of your country was uncertain, and the scenes of your military 
drama were continually shifting. In the recollection of these important 
transactions, you Avill not be unmindful of your companions in danger. 
Are they all present to partake in the festivity of the day, and to com- 
memorate those great events for the acquisition of which their valor 
and their virtue have largely contributed '? No, my friends, many of 
the most ornamental pillars have fallen, in erecting the great fabric of 
freedom ; and, while our feelings are alive on the subject, scarcely does 
the magnitude of the object compensate the magnitude of the sacrifice. 
May unfading laurels ever bloom around their tombs ! May monu- 
ments more durable than marble be erected to their memories ! May 
we, my brethren, ever bear on our minds the amiable and manly virtues 
by which they were distinguished while actors on the stage, and the 
glory and dignity with which they closed the scene. And while their 
memories live deeply engraven on the hearts and affections of a grate- 
ful people, may faithful history transmit their illustrious deeds to the 
latest time, and her fairest pages be ornamented with the lustre of their 
fame ! 

The memorable day we now celebrate, and the purposes for which 
we are assembled, will recall to our recollection the period which gave 
birth to our institution, the motives from whence it originated, and the 
principles upon wliicli it is founded. Having for more than eight years 
devoted our lives to the service of our country, — having cheerfully 
endured the dangers and fatigues wdiich are incident to a military 
employment, and having seen our efforts crowned with success, the 
period arrived when we were to take a farewell of each other. A 



WILLIAM HULL. 219 

crisis so interesting must have excited a variety of emotions. While, 
on the one hand, we were animated with joy that our country Avas freed 
from danger, and honorably seated in the chair of independence, — on 
the other, we must have been penetrated with grief ; not that we were 
about to quit the splendid scenes of military command, and mingle 
with our fellow-citizens ; not that toil and poverty would probably be 
our portion, — for to them we had long been wedded; — but that we were 
to act the last affectionate part of our military connection, and to sep- 
arate, perhaps never to meet again. Was it possible to suppress the 
feelings which the occasion excited? Did not the same principles 
which had animated you to endure the fatigues of war and dangers of 
the field, for the attainment of independence, loudly call upon you to 
institute a memorial of so great an event 7 

When the representatives of your country bestowed upon you the 
honorable appellation of the patriot army, and honored you with the 
united thanks of America for the part you had acted, was it not your 
duty, by your future conduct, to give the highest possible evidence 
that the applause was not unmerited ? Could you possibly have exhib- 
ited a more striking example, or given a higher proof, than by forming 
an institution which inculcated the duty of laying down in peace the 
arms you had assumed for public defence 1 If the various fortunes 
of war had attached you to each other, if there was sincerity in that 
friendship you professed, if you wished to contribute a small portion 
of the little you possessed to the relief of your unfortunate compan- 
ions, was it possible for you to separate, without forming yourselves 
into a society of friends, for the continuance and exercise of these 
benevolent purposes ? Heaven saw with approbation the purity of your 
intentions, and your institution arose on the broad foundation of patri- 
otism, friendship, and charity. 

William Hull was born at Derby, Ct., June 24, 1753. He grad- 
uated at Yale College in 1772 ; studied divinity during one year, and 
then attached himself to the Law School in Litchfield, Ct., and entered 
the bar in 1775 ; after which he engaged in the war of the Revolution 
as a captain. 

The first incident recorded by Capt. Hull, on liis arrival in camp, is 
a striking illustration of the deficiency of military order, discipline and 
etiquette, with which Washington had to contend. A body of the 
enemy landed at Lechmere's Point, in Cambridge. It was expected 
an attack would be made on the American lines. The alarm was 



220 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

given, and the troops ordered to their respective stations. When the 
regiment of Col. Webb was formed for action, the captains and subal- 
terns appeared dressed in long cloth frocks, -n-ith kerchiefs tied about 
their heads. Capt. Hull Avas the only man in uniform. The officers 
inquired why he came out in full dress, — that the regiment was going 
into action, and that he would be a mark for the enemy's fire. He 
replied that he thought the uniform of an officer was designed to aid 
his influence and increase his authority over his men ; and if ever 
important in these points, it was more particularly so in the hour 
of battle. They referred to their experience, remarking that in the 
French war it was not customary, -and they had never worn it. Capt. 
Hull yielded to age and experience, sent his servant for a frock and 
kerchief, and dressed himself after the fashion of his companions. His 
company was in advance of the British lines. Wliile at this station, 
Gen. Washington and suite, in the course of reviewing the troops, 
stopped at the redoubt, and asked what officer commanded there. With 
feelings of inexpressible mortification, says Gen. Hull, I came forward 
in my savage costume, and reported that Capt. Hull had the honor of 
commanding the redoubt. As soon as Gen. Washington passed on, 
Capt. Hull availed himself of the first moment to despatch his ser- 
vant, with all possible speed, to bring him his uniform. As he put it 
on, he quietly resolved never more to subscribe to the opinions of men, 
however loyal and brave in their country's service, whose views were 
so little in unison with his own. After the troops had waited four or 
five hours in expectation of an attack, the enemy returned to his 
encampment, having no other object in making the descent than to 
procure provisions. Hull was in the surprise on Dorchester Heights, 
at White Plains, battle of Trenton, and Princeton, where he was 
promoted as major ; was at Ticonderoga, at the surrender of Bur- 
goyne, in the battle of Monmouth, and at the capture of Stoney Point ; 
was appointed army-inspector under Baron Steuben, became a colonel 
in the capture of Cornwallis, and was sent on a mission to Quebec 
to demand the surrender of Forts Niagara, Detroit, and several 
smaller forts. In Shays' insurrection. Col. Hull had command of 
the left wing of the troops under Gen. Lincoln, and, in making a 
forced march through a violent snow-storm, surprised the insur- 
gents in their camp, who fled in every direction. In 1781 Col. Hull 
married Sarah, daughter of Judge Fuller, of Newton. In 1789 he 
was the commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. 



WILLIAM HULL. 221 

In 1793 lie was a commissioner to Upper Canada for a treaty -with 
the Indians. In 1798 lie visited Europe, and on his return he was 
appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and was in the Mas- 
sachusetts Senate. In 1805 he was appointed by Congress the Gov- 
ernor of Michigan, when he surrendered Detroit to Maj. Gen. Isaac 
Brock, Aug. 15, 1812. In 1814 he was condemned by court-martial 
for cowardice, and sentenced to be shot, but was pardoned by President 
Madison. In 1824 Maj. Gen. Hull pubhshed a series of letters in 
defence of his conduct in the campaign of 1812. The North Amer- 
ican Review said that, from the public documents collected and pub- 
lished in them, the conclusion must unequivocally be drawn that Gen. 
Hull was required by the government to do what it was morally and 
physically impossible that he should do ; and his grandson, Rev. James 
Freeman Clarke, author of the Military and Civil Life of Gen. William 
Hull, in 482 pages 8vo., after a critical examination of the whole case, 
remarks that the charge of cowardice, when examined, becomes incred- 
ible and absurd. The only questions which can now be raised by rea- 
sonable men are these : Did not Gen. Hull err in judgment in some 
of his measures ? Might it not have been better to have attacked Mai- 
den ? And was the surrender of his post at Detroit, without a struggle 
for its defence, reconcilable with his situation at that time ? 

The reason for not attacking Maiden was the deficiency of suitable 
cannon for that purpose ; and a want of confidence in the militia, as 
acknowledged by the officers in command, to storm the works at Mai- 
den, which were defended by cannon batteries, while reliance on the 
part of the Americans was on militia bayonets almost entirely. 

In considering the conduct of Gen. Hull, in surrendering Detroit, 
we ought always to bear in mind that he was governor of the territory 
as well as general of the army ; that he accepted the command of the 
army for the express purpose of defending the territory ; and that 
though, in compliance with the orders of government, he had invaded 
Canada, a principal object was still the defence of the people of Mich- 
igan. If, therefore, his situation was such that even a successful tem- 
porary resistance could not finally prevent the fall of Detroit, had he 
any right to expose the people of Michigan to that universal massacre 
which would unquestionably have been the result of a battle at Detroit? 
It must also be remembered that at the time of the surrender the fort 
was crowded with women and children, who had fled thither for protec- 
tion from the town, which tended still more to embarrass the situation 
19* 



222 THE HUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

and move the sympathies of the governor. If, therefore, some persons, 
with whom mihtary glory stands higher than humanity and plain duty, 
may still blame Gen. Hull for not fighting a useless battle, and for not 
causing blood to be shed where nothing was to be gained by its effusion, 
we are confident that all high-minded and judicious persons will con- 
clude that, to sign the surrender of Detroit, was an act of greater cour- 
age and truer manliness, on the part of Gen. Hull, than it would have 
been to have sent out his troops to battle. On his death-bed, he 
expressed his happiness that he had thus saved the wanton destruction 
of the peaceful citizens of Michigan. He died at Newton, Mass., Nov. 



SAMUEL STILLMAN, D. D. 

JULY 4, 1789. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Samuel Stillman was born at Philadelphia, Feb. 27, 1737 ; was 
educated at Charleston, S. C, and married Hannah, daughter of Evin 
Morgan, merchant of Philadelphia, May 23, 1759. He settled in the 
ministry at James' Island, but impaired health occasioned his removal 
to Bordentown, N. J., in 1760, where, after continuing two years, ho 
visited Boston, became an assistant at the Second Baptist Church, and 
was, on Jan. 9, 1765, installed as successor of Rev. Jeremiah Condy, 
over the First Baptist Church. 

On the repeal of the Stamp Act, Mr. Stillman published a patriotic 
sermon, which was greatly admired. This occurred May 17, 1766. 
" Should I serve you a century in the gospel of Christ," says Stillman 
in this performance, " I might never again have so favorable an oppor- 
tunity to consider this passage, — ' As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is 
good news from a far country.' It is a proverb, the truth of which you 
are now feeling ; hence, great is the propriety of improving its spirit- 
ual meaning. And the preacher will have the advantage, while he 
attempts to illustrate the glories of the Gospel, by what the people feel. 
Has not a general joy diffused itself amongst us ? Does not Boston 
and the country wear a face of pleasantness ? You may read good 
news in every countenance. How great the alteration that has taken 
place amongst us, in consequence of a late most interesting decision in 



SAMUEL STILLMAN, D. D. 223 

our favor ! When the news arrived, so as to be confidently believed, 
there was a universal shout. It now became impossible for every lover 
of liberty and his country to conceal the gladness of his heart, — pub- 
lic and private were the expressions of joy on this important occasion. 
Yea, your children, yet ignorant of the importance of this event to 
these colonies, bear a part in the triumphs of the day, — in imitation, 
no doubt, of their parents and others, whom they observe pleased on 
this happy occurrence. Well, thought I, good news from an earthly 
prince, that brings deliverance, and gives us the prospect of the contin- 
uance of our most dear and invaluable rights and privileges, which we 
apprehended on the brink of departing from us, fill us with such a gen- 
eral gladness that scarce a tongue will be silent. ! how much more 
might we expect that the glad tidings of salvation — salvation from 
everlasting misery, to the fruition of endless happiness — would diffuse 
a universal joy ! " Samuel Stillman, at that period, was a loyal subject 
of King George the Third, as appears by this passage: "May the 
British Parliament receive that deference from us that they deserve, 
and be convinced by our future conduct that we aim not at independ- 
ency, nor wish to destroy distinctions where distinctions are necessary, 
— that we rejoice in being governed according to the principles of that 
constitution of which we make our boast as Englishmen ; yea, further, 
that if it was put to our choice, whether our connection with Great 
Britain should be dissolved, we, the inhabitants of these colonies, would 
rise like a cloud, and deprecate such a disunion." 

Mr. Stillman soon became one of the most popular pulpit orators of 
his day, and was consequently appointed to preach on great occasions. 
He pronounced a sermon before the Ancient and Honorable Artillery 
Company, under William Heath, and the train of Artillery, under 
Capt. Adino Paddock, June 4, 1770. In allusion to the massacre in 
King-street, he says, " On account of which we have wept sore, our 
tears are still on our cheeks ; which doubtless wnll be a mournful 
anniversary in years to come. And it is but entertaining such an 
opinion of liis majesty's paternal regards for his subjects as they ought 
ever to cherish, to suppose that he has wept, or will weep Avith us, over 
the five unhappy men who fell on that gloomy night. What heart is 
hard enough to refuse a tear 7 " And in a note Stillman says, " How- 
ever well a wound may be healed, a scar always remains. So, however 
satisfactorily to the colonists the present disputes may terminate, they 
will not forget the names of those who were the cause of troops being 



224 THE HUNDRED BOSTON OEATORS. 

quartered in this metropolis in a time of peace, nor the errand on 
which they came." Pure eloquence like this, together with the 
living voice, whose tones and emphases, in an orator like our own 
Stillman, says Dr. Park, of Andover, are themselves almost a doc- 
trine : not with the voice alone, but with the hand, which opens in 
order to give out the truth ; with the eye, which radiates a thought 
unutterable by the lips ; with the whole person, which bodies forth what 
is concealed within. Mr. Stillman, in this discourse, urges the neces- 
sity of a well-organized militia, and says: " Li this town there are 
above two thousand men able to bear arms, many of whom are excused 
from duty, except in cases of alarm ; others, inattentive to the import- 
ance of a well-disciplined mihtia, choose rather to pay their fines than 
appear in the field. Permit me, then, with modesty to ask, how is it 
possible, things continuing thus, that the regiment should appear either 
complete or respectable? Whereas, would gentlemen of reputation 
among us set the good example, it would render our militia repu- 
table, and tend to increase the number of volunteers in the service. 
Hence it is in their power, in a great degree, to strengthen the things 
which remain in this respect, and seem ready to die. This, among 
other things, would be an evidence of a truly public spirit, and an 
honor to those who should lead the way." In Mr. Stillman's Election 
Sermon, delivered May, 1779, we find the following bold passage, in 
which he says that " the very men who were appointed the guardians 
and conservators of the rights of the people have dismembered the 
empire, and, by repeated acts of injustice and oppression, have forced 
from the bosom of their parent country millions of Americans, who 
might have been drawn by a hair, but were not to be driven by all the 
thunder of Britain. A few soft words would have fixed them in her 
interest, and have turned away that wrath which her cruel conduct 
had enkindled. The sameness of religion, of language, and of man- 
ners, together Avith interest, that powerful motive, and a recollection 
of that reciprocation of kind ofiices which had long prevailed, would 
have held America in closest friendship with Great Britain, had she 
not governed too much;" and, in the oration at the head of this 
article. Dr. Stillman remarks, " We have often been told that the 
independence of America hath taken place fifty or an hundred years 
too soon. Rather, it hath happened at the very time Infinite Wisdom 
saw best. He without whose knowledge the sparrow doth not fall to 
the ground hath directed the innumerable intermediate events which 



SAMUEL STILLMAN, D. D. 225 

connect tlie settlement of the country with the declaration of independ- 
ence, in 1776. It is because unerring A\nsdom chose it should be. 
What makes this event appear altogether providential is, that it was 
not the ground of the quarrel with Great Britain, nor the object for 
which the Americans first contended. They fought for liberty, not for 
independence. There was a period, after the contest began, when they 
would have rejoiced to be placed in the same condition in which they 
were in 1763. And when the proposition of independence was first 
made, the people in general were much opposed to it, and consented to 
it at last as a matter of absolute necessity." 

Dr. Stillman was a delegate from Boston to the Massachusetts 
State convention, on the acceptance of the federal constitution, in 
February, 1788. In his speech on the last day of the session, he 
remarked : '' I have no interest to influence me to accept this constitu- 
tion of government, distinct from the interest of my country at large. 
We are all embarked in one bottom, and must sink or swim too-ether. 
Heaven has stationed me in a line of duty that precludes every pros- 
pect of the honors and emoluments of office. Let who will govern, I 
must obey. Nor would I exchange the pulpit for the highest honors 
my country can confer. I, too, have personal liberties to secure, as 
dear to me as any gentleman in the convention ; and as numerous a 
family, probably, to engage my attention. Besides which, I stand 
here, with my very honorable colleagues, as a representative of the 
citizens of this great metropolis, who have been pleased to honor me 
with their confidence, — an honor, in my view, unspeakably greater 
than a peerage or a pension." After an elaborate course of argument, 
he remarks : " Viewing the constitution in this light, I stand ready to 
give my vote for it, without any amendments at all. I am ready to 
submit my life, my liberty, my family, my property, and, as far as 
my vote will go, the interest of my constituents, to this general gov- 
ernment. After all, if tliis constitution were as perfect as is the sacred 
volume, it would not secure the liberties of the people, unless they 
watch their own liberties. Nothing written on paper will do this. It 
is, therefore, necessary that the people should keep a vigilant, not an 
over-jealous eye, on their rulers ; and that they should give all due 
encouragement to our colleges and schools of learning, that so knowl- 
edge may be diffused through every part of our country." Dr. 
Stillman was a decided Whig, and a Federalist of the Washington 
school. He died March 13, 1807. 



226 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

A biography of Dr. Stillman, written by his son-in-law, Thomas 
Gray, J). D., of Roxbury, is prefixed to a volume of occasional ser- 
mons, published in 1808. It should be stated that the analysis of his 
doctrinal opinions was written by a layman of Dr. Stillman's church. 
Madam Stillman, his wife, founded the Boston Female Asylum, in 
1800, where her portrait is exhibited. A person detractingly re- 
marked of Stillman, in conversation with IMoses Stuart, of Andover, 
that he was not a man of talents. " How long was Dr. Stillman 
pastor of the church?" inquired Stuart. " He was its pastor forty 
years," was the reply. ''Was he popular during all that period?" 
" He was." " What ! and not a man of talents — impossible ! " said 
Stuart. 

The oratory of Stillman was a rare exception to the reply of Garrick 
to a clergyman who inquired of him how it was that the stage pro- 
duced so much greater an efiFect on an audience than the pulpit. " The 
difference consists in this," said Garrick ; " that we speak fiction as if 
we believed it fact, while you preach the truth as if you supposed it 
fiction." So flexile was the bow of Stillman, however, that the well- 
directed arrow was sure to reach the heart. 

" One of the best specimens of effect in preaching," remarks the 
Panoplist, "was Dr. Stillman, of the Baptist church. It should 
always be remembered that when speaking of oratory we mean two 
distinct things, which are seldom found united in one person. We 
call Burke an orator, and the same appellation we give to White- 
field. But how different ! Burke was a very tedious speaker ; 
no man thinned the benches of the House of Commons more,— 
and it was not until his rich and flowing style appeared from 
the press that his merits were appreciated. With Whitefield it was 
exactly the reverse. He was thi-illing from the desk, but it would 
have been happy for his memory if none of his discourses had ever 
been published. We cannot claim for Dr. Stillman the oratory of 
Burke. His printed sermons are no reflection of the man. The 
voice is wanting, — the melting tones, the restless activity, the match- 
less emphasis (sometimes, at least), the fervor, the life, the energy. 
He was a thin, spare man, dressed with the utmost neatness ; he 
wore a large, powdered, bushy wig ; his motions very quick, and his 
tones some of the most melting and quickening we ever heard. 
There was a sort of nervous impatience in him during the singing of 
the last hymn before the sermon, which seemed to say to you, ' J 



SAMUEL STILLMAN, D. D. 227 

Ion"- to be at my work ;' and the moment tlie choir stopped, he started 
from his seat, hke shot from the cannon's mouth, and was announcing 
hia text before your hymn-book was half closed. It was once our lot 
to see him enter the jail, in Court-street, where a criminal was con- 
fined, waiting for execution. A vast crowd was assembled in the yard, 
around the old court-house, blocking up all the passages. He was 
driven up by an elderly negro man, who sat on a strapped seat before 
the body of the chaise. The impatient chaplain leaped from his carriage 
hke a bird ; and I shall never forget the impression his motions made 
on me, as he darted through the crowd, like a glancing arrow or a 
bounding rocket, rushing through every opening, and almost pushing 
one one way, and another another, seeming to say ])y his very motions, 
' Make way, gentlemen, make way ; your business cannot be equal to 
mme. I have but one work to do ; it must be done ; I go to rescue a 
sinner from the darkness of his ignorance and the pangs of the second 
death. Make way, gentlemen, make way.' 

"His enunciation was rapid, and his emphasis, as I have before 
said, sometimes inimitable. He had some nice flexures of voice, which 
I have never heard from another man, and which never can be restored, 
now that the voice that modulated them is silent in the grave. For 
example, the following hymn : 

' Well, the Redeemer 's gone, 
To appear before our God ; 
To sprinkle o'er the flaming throne, 
With his atoning blood.' 

" Some cold-blooded critic has lately censured this verse ; but I think 
he must have been disarmed, could he have heard Dr. Stillman read it. 
His voice had a beautiful circumflex to it ; he threw this emphasis on 
the word ' well,' then a pause, and the rest of the verse pronounced in 
that cheerful and animating tone wliich seemed to rend the veil, and 
transport the hearer into the unseen world. The most skilful actor 
never made a more sudden and happy transition. His voice, however, 
was more felicitous in sweetness and pathos than in majesty and terror. 
The solemn, guttural tones were entirely wanting to him ; and there 
was no apparent art m his style or dehvery. It was all earnest sim- 
plicity." 



228 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

DR. SAMUEL WHITWELL. 

JULY 4, 1789. FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI. 

Was born at Boston; entered the Latin School, 1762; graduated 
at Princeton, 1774 ; student of medicine under Dr. James Llojd, and 
married Lucy Tyler, of Boston, 1783. Was an army surgeon in Col. 
James Jackson's regiment, and died at Newton, November, 1791, 
aged 38 years. 

In Dr. Whitwell's oration we have a happy allusion to the adoption 
of the federal constitution : " Fearful of exhibiting any appearance of 
despotism, at a time when every heart was animated with republican 
principles, the most rigid in their form ; at a period when the cry of 
liberty was ushered to the ear as the goddess of the country, ensigns 
of which were Avaved around as emblems of true contentment, and a 
name which our little offspring were taught to repeat before they could 
scarcely articulate ; when all ranks of people united in sentiment to 
repel every principle that seemed derogating from freedom, suspicious 
of infringing their darling rights, — it was wisdom, and, indeed, neces- 
sary, to adapt pubhc conduct and measures to the temper and feeling 
of the times. But what a train of evils, my friends, was hence gener- 
ated, — our treasures exhausted, trade decaying, credit sinking, our 
national chai'acter blasted, and ruin and destruction the gloomy pros- 
pect ! Where was the soul that was not affected with the most poignant 
sensations ? Where was the patriot that did not bleed at every vein, 
and shed tears of sorrow for his expiring country 7 — But what do 1 
say — expiring ? I recall the word ; phoenix-like, from the ruins of 
the old, a new constitution is framed, adopted, and is now in operation. 
What prospects of future benefits will hence result, I leave my antici- 
pating audience to determine ; but, as your countenances bespeak the 
sentiments of your hearts and the wishes of your breasts, suffer me, in 
all the warmth of enthusiastic zeal, to congratulate you on this memo- 
rable era. May we prostrate ourselves before the great potentate of 
the universe, and, in the sublime language of inspiration, exclaim. 
' Praise waited for thee, oh God, in Zion, and unto thee shall the vow 
be performed.' " 



EDWARD GRAY. 229 

EDWARD GRAY. 

JULY 4, 1790. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES 

Edward Gray was born at Boston, 1764 ; entered the Latin School 
1772. graduated at Harvard College 1782, was a counsellor-at-law, and 
married Susanna Turell, 1790 ; was a polished gentleman of great 
blandness of manners, and highly esteemed. Rev. Frederick T. Gray 
was his son. He died at Boston, Dec. 10, 1810, aged forty-six. 



WILLIAM TUDOR. 

JULY 4, 1790. FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI. 

William Tudor, the last orator for this veteran institution, very 
pertinently remarks, that " to ascertain the precise time, under the 
administration of a Cecil or a Chatham, when Britain and her colonies 
must have separated, might afford amusement to a speculative inquirer, 
but can be of no utihty now. That the crisis was precipitated, is con- 
ceded. But it was not the despotic statutes of England, — it was not 
the haughty and fastidious manners of her officers, civil or military, 
— which compelled the mighty Revolution which severed her empire. 
These did rouse, but they could not create, that unconquerable spirit 
which stimulated America to vindicate, and irrevocably to fix, those 
rights which distance and other causes might for ages have kept indef- 
inite, dependent, and precarious. No ; it was that native, fervid sense 
of freedom, which our enlightened ancestors brought with them and fos- 
tered in the forests of America, and which, with pious care, they taught 
their offspring never to forego. Although the present age cannot 
forget, and posterity shall learn to remember, those violences which 
impelled their country to war, yet it must be admitted that the period 
of parting had arrived. British influence and foreign arts might have 
corrupted, silenced or destroyed, that spirit which, thus early outraged, 
became invincible, gave birth to the immortal edict, and all those glo- 
rious circumstances in which we this day rejoice. 
20 



230 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

" Whole oceans rolled between, yet the colonies retained a strong 
attachment to their parent State. The numerous memorials transmit- 
ted from every province to that infatuated country remain the evidence 
of their patience and affection. But, deaf to the voice of supplication 
and aloof to entreaty, she added indignity to wrong, until ' humility 
was tortured into rage.' Oppression Avas crowded upon oppression, 
until submission was criminal, arid resistance became an obhgation. On 
this auspicious day, and through every revolving year, the magnanimity 
exhibited by our country at that all-interesting and momentous crisis 
shall cheer the patriot mind, and raise a glow of honest pride. She 
neither hesitated nor halted ; but, sacrificing her attachments at the 
shrine of duty, appealed to God and to her sword for justice and suc- 
cess. Heaven approbated the appeal, invigorated her councils, and 
pointed the road to victory. That sword which she drew by compul- 
sion she wore with honor, and her enemies have confessed that she 
sheathed it without revenge." 



THOMAS CRAFTS, JR. 

JULY 4, 1791. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES 

In the peroration of this performance Mr. Crafts says : " Locally 
remote from the causes of quarrel which drench the European w^orld 
in blood, what have we to do but cultivate in peace those virtues which 
make a nation great, as Well as happy 1 The goddess of Liberty has 
condescended to reside among us. Let us cherish the lovely guest, — 
for where will she find an asylum, if driven from these happy shores 1 
To look before us, a field presents itself over which the excursive wing 
of fancy might soar unwearied. In a few years, our extensive lakes 
shall be crowded with ships charged with the rich produce of yet unfur- 
rowed soils. On the banks of rivers, where human footstep yet has 
never trod, cities shall rear their gilded spires. The trackless wilder- 
ness, where now the tawny aboriginals, in frantic yells, celebrate their 
orgies, shall become the peaceful abodes of civilized fife. And America 
shall be renowned for the seat of science and the arts, as she already 
has been for the wisdom of her counsels and the valor of her arms." 



JOSEPH BLAKE, JK. 231 

Thomas Crafts, Jr., ^Yas born at Boston, April 9, 1767 ; entered the 
Latin School 1774, and graduated at Harvard College 1785, where he 
took part in a sjllogistic disputation — ■' Sol est habitabilis," and read 
law with Gov. Gore. He was probably a son of Col. Thomas Crafts, 
who proclaimed the Declaration of Independence from the balcony of 
the old -State-house, in 1776, in presence of the people. The son was 
counsellor-at-law. He was secretary to Hon. Mr. Gore, in the mission 
to the court of St. James, and was appointed United States consul for 
Bourdeaux. He was a bachelor. He was an effective political writer, 
and his chaste productions often appeared in Russell's Centmel. He 
had an infinite fund of wit and humor, and his companionship was 
eagerly sought. The elder Adams remarked of him that he was one 
of the rarest wits he ever knew. He died Aug. 25, 1798. 

This was not the person so graphically characterized by the Boston 
satirist. Mr. Crafts was too decided an advocate for the Federal party 
to be the subject of such shafts. Old Democratic Justice Crafts was 
probably a near kinsman. 

"Dear Justice Crafts, fair faction's partisan, 
I like thee much, thou fiery-Yisaged man ; 
I love to hear thee charm the listening throng. 
Thy head and wig still moving with thy tongue ! 
Thus Jove of old, the heathen's highest god. 
Their minor godships governed with his nod. 
In this you differ from that great divine, — 
Once from his head came wisdom, ne'er from thine. 
The mind of Justice Crafts no subject balks. 
Of kingcraft, priestcraft, craftily he talks ; 
Oft have we heard his crafty tales, and laughed, 
But never knew him mention justice-craft." 



JOSEPH BLAKE, JR. 

JULY 4, 1792. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Joseph Blake, Jr., was born at Boston, and a brother of Hon. 
George Blake ; graduated at Harvard College in 1786, when he gave 
an English oration ; became an attorney-at-law, and married Anna 



loZ THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Black, in 1793. lie removed to New York, and died at Kingston, 
Jamaica, July 10, 1802, aged thirty-four years. 

We find in the Democratiad, printed in 1796, a poetical sketch of 
Dr. Charles Jarvis' speech at Faneuil Hall, against Jay's treaty, which 
elicited an allusion to Mr. Blake : 

" Now loud and clamorous the debate begins, — 
Jarvis his thread of tropes and figures spins ; 
And often pauses, often calls aloud, 
To every member of the gaping crowd, 
To show him, if the treaty should go down, 
Why faction's hopes were not forever flown. 
He wished delay — delays must not be had ; 
I 've never read it, but I say 'tis bad. 
If it goes down, I '11 bet my ears and eyes 
It will the people all unpopularize ; 
Boobies may hear it read ere they decide, — 
I move it quickly be unratified." 

We quote the above for the purpose of introducing the allusion in 
a note of the Democratiad, as follows: "The doctor said this ' in a 
manner that Avould have done honor to a Cicero,' says his printer, Mr. 
Adams. Pray, Mr. Adams, who ever told you anything about Cicero 7 
Why did you not say, which would have done honor to a Joseph Blake, 
Jr., that classical young orator who seconded the doctor at the town- 
meetings in routing poor Mr. Hall ? You might then have appealed for 
proof to an oration he spoke a few years ago, on the 4th of July, in 
which he says that this continent is very happily situated, being ' bar- 
ricaded on one side by vast regions of soil.' Be so good, Mr. Blake, 
before you decide against the treaty, as to tell us which side of this con- 
tinent is barricaded by vast regions of soil." We will quote the passage 
exactly as it is given in Mr. Blake's oration : " IMost favorable is the 
situation of this continent. It stands a world by itself. Barricaded 
from external danger on one side by vast regions of soil ; on the other, 
by wide plains of ocean. The Atlantic, upon her bosom, may undulate 
riches to its shore, but all the artillery in Europe cannot shake it to 
its centre." 

As political meetings in Boston are known by the term caucus, it is 
not irrelevant to cite Gordon, who, in his history of the American 
Revolution, published in 1788, says, "More than fifty years ago Mr. 
Samuel Adams' father, and twenty others, — one or two from the north 
end of the town, where all ship business is carried on, — used to meet, 
make a caucus, and lay their plan for introducing certain persons into 
Dlaccs of trust and power." 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 233 

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

JULY 4, 1793. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIRS, 

In this model oration, our orator, -ffitli a burst of fervor, exclaims : 
"Americans ! let us pause for a moment to consider the situation of our 
country at that eventful day when our national existence commenced. 
In the full possession and enjoyment of all those prerogatives for which 
you then dared to adventure upon 'all the varieties of untried being,' 
the calm and settled moderation of the mind is scarcely competent to 
conceive tlie tone of heroism to which the souls of freemen were exalted 
in that hour of perilous magnanimity. Seventeen times has the sun, in 
the progress of his annual revolutions, diSused his prolific radiance 
over the plains of independent America. Millions of hearts, which 
then palpitated with the rapturous glow of patriotism, have already 
been translated to a brighter world, — to the abodes of more than mor- 
tal freedom ! Other milhons have arisen, to receive from their parents 
and benefactors the inestimable recompense of their achievements. A 
large proportion of the audience whose benevolence is at this moment 
listening to the speaker of the day, hke him, were at that period too little 
advanced beyond the threshold of life to partake of the divine enthu- 
siasm which inspired the American bosom, which prompted her voice 
to proclaim defiance to the thunders of Britain, which consecrated 
the banners of her armies, and, finally, erected the holy temple of 
American Liberty over the tomb of departed tyranny. It is from 
those who have already passed the meridian of life, — it is from you, ye 
venerable assertors of the rights of mankind, — that we are to be informed 
what were the feehngs which swayed within your breasts, and impelled 
you to action, when, like the stripling of Israel, with scarce a weapon 
to attack, and without a shield for your defence, you met, and, undis- 
mayed, engaged with the gigantic greatness of the British power. 
Untutored in the disgraceful science of human butchery, — destitute of 
the fatal materials which the ingenuity of man has combined to sharpen 
the scythe of death, — unsupported by the arm of any friendly alliance, 
and unfortified against the powerful assaults of an unrelenting enemy, 
— you did not hesitate at that moment, when your coasts were invaded 
by a numerous and veteran army, to pronounce the sentence of eter- 
nal separation from Britain, and to throw the gauntlet at a power the 
20* 



234 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATOPS. 

terror of whose recent triumphs was almost coextensive with the earth. 
The interested and selfish propensities, which in times of prosperous 
tranquillity have such powerful dominion over the heart, were all 
expelled ; and, in their stead, the public virtues, the spirit of personal 
devotion to the common cause, a contempt of every danger in compar- 
ison with the subserviency of the country, had an unlimited control. 
The passion for the public had absorbed all the rest, as the glorious 
luminary of the heaven extinguishes, in a flood of refulgence, the 
twinkling splendor of evei'y inferior planet. Those of you, my coun- 
trymen, who Avere actors in those interesting scenes, will best know 
how feeble and impotent is the language of this description to express 
the impassioned emotions of the soul with which you were then agi- 
tated ; yet it were injustice to conclude from thence, or from the 
greater prevalence of private and personal motives in these days of 
calm serenity, that your sons have degenerated from the virtues of 
their fathers. Let it rather be a subject of pleasing reflection to you, 
that the generous and disinterested energies which you were summoned 
to display are permitted, by the bountiful indulgence of Heaven, to 
remain latent in the bosoms of your children. From the present pros- 
perous appearance of our public affairs, we may admit a rational hope 
that our country will have no occasion to require of us those extraor- 
dinary and heroic exertions which it was your fortune to exhibit. But, 
from the common versatility of all human destiny, should the prospect 
hereafter darken, and the clouds of public misfortune thicken to a tem- 
pest, — should the voice of our country's calamity ever call us to her 
relief, — we swear, by the precious memory of the sages who toiled and 
of the heroes who" bled in her defence, that we will prove ourselves not 
unworthy of the prize which they so dearly purchased, — that we will 
act as the faithful disciples of those who so magnanimously taught us 
the instructive lesson of repubhcan virtue." 

President John Adams, the father of the subject of this article, — 
one of the most ardent patriots of the Revolution, one of the firmest 
advocates for the Declaration of Independence, and the first ambassa- 
dor to the court of St. James, — was characterized by Thomas Jeffer- 
son as our Colossus on the floor of Congress ; not graceful, not elegant, 
not always fluent in his public addresses, yet he came out with a power, 
both of thought and expression, that moved us from our seats. On 
his interview with King George, in 1785, Mr. Adams displayed a 
manly dignity that would have honored the representative of the most 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 235 

powerful monarch of any nation. King George said to him : "I was 
the last to conform to the separation ; but, the separation having become 
inevitable, I have always said, as I say now, that I would be the first 
to meet the friendship of the United States, as an independent power." 
In reply to an insinuation from the king, regarding an attachment to 
France, Adams remarked, "I must avow to your majesty I have no 
attachment but to my own country." The king replied, as quick as 
lightning, " An honest man will never have any other." 

As an indication of the malignant prejudice of the royalists towards 
this eminent statesman, we will cite a paragraph written by a Tory 
refugee, pubhshed in the London Pohtical Magazine of 1781 : " This 
Adams was originally bred to the law, and is a native of the province 
of Massachusetts, in New England; he was born at Braintree, a 
village ten miles south, or rather south-east, of Boston. In person, he 
is a clumsy, middle-sized man ; and, according to all appearance, by 
taking to the law and politics, has spoiled an able ploughman or porter, 
though the trade of a butcher would have better suited the bent of his 
mind. He has read Tristram Shandy, and affects, awkwardly enough, 
a smartness which does not at all correspond either with his personal 
figure or with his natural dulness. What has tended chiefly to distin- 
guish him among the rebels is, the eagerness with which he urged the 
taking up arms, and his continued malignity towards all the friends of 
peace and the mother country. For these excellent qualities, he was 
chosen a delegate from Massachusetts to the first Congress. When at 
Philadelphia, several of his letters to his friends in New England were 
intercepted in the mail, as the post courier was crossing Narraganset 
Ferry. In one of them, dated July 24, 1775, and addressed to his 
wife, Mrs. Abigail Adams, he tells her, by way of secret, that no 
mortal tale could equal the fidgets, the whims, the caprice, the vanity, 
the superstition and the irritability, of his compatriots, on their journey 
from New England to Philadelphia. These compatriots were, Thomas 
Gushing, Samuel Adams, and Robert Treat Paine. The first of these 
was a distiller, and the last a lawyer ; and both were weak and insig- 
nificant men, the tools of Samuel Adams, the grand confederate and 
correspondent of that hoary traitor, Frankhn. In another letter, 
dated the day after, addressed to Col. Warner, of Plymouth, then at 
Watertown, President of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, he 
displayed the barbarity of his disposition, by asking him, ' Will your 
new legislative and executive feel bold or irresolute ? Will your 



236 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

judicial hang, and -whip, and fine, and imprison, without scruple? 
It is to this advice that he alludes, when he mentions the refugees, in 
his letter from Amsterdam. He was for stopping their career bj hang- 
ing them on the spot, without favor or affection. If this man should 
live till the close of the rebellion, and be found in America, no good 
subject will lament if he should meet with that fate which he so strenu- 
ously prescribed for othei'S. The public will not be surprised that, with 
respect to the refugees from America, there should be such a coinci- 
dence of opinion between certain speechifiers and a rebel ambassador. 
Neither will they be surprised that this man should regret his rebel 
confederate Laurens ; prognosticate the ruin of this country ; promise 
his rebel friends the assistance of Russia, and money from the Dutch ; 
abuse the British ministry ; talk of sumptuary laws to restrain super- 
fluities in dress, where there is not even a sufficiency of the most ordi- 
nary clothing ; and of paying the whole of their army expenses in a 
manner that would not be felt, by a few duties and excises, in a 
country where the paper money has gone to "^^Teck, and where solid 
coin is not to be seen." 

John Quincy Adams was born in a house still standing, in the near 
vicinity of that in which his fiither had been born, within what is now 
Quincy, and was then Braintree, July 11, 1767 ; and was baptized in 
the meeting-house of the First Church, by Rev. Anthony "VVibird, on 
the day after his birth. Mr. Adams once related, in regard to his grand- 
father Quincy : " The house at Mount Wollaston has a peculiar inter- 
est to me, as the dwelling of my great-grandfather, Avhose name I bear. 
The incident which gave rise to this circumstance is not without its moral 
to my heart. He was dying when I was baptized ; and his daughter, 
my grandmother, present at my birth, requested that I might receive 
his name. The fact, recorded by my father at the time, has connected 
with that portion of my name a charm of mingled sensibility and 
devotion. It was filial tenderness that gave the name. It was the 
name of one passing from earth to immortality. These have been 
among the strongest links of my attachment to the name of Quincy, 
and have been to me, through life, a perpetual admonition to do nothing 
unworthy of it." Senator Davis said of him, "the cradle hymns of 
the child were the songs of liberty;" it being the period when our 
country was struggling for liberty. To the plastic influence of his 
mascuhne mother, John Quincy ascribed whatever he had been, and 
hoped to be in futurity. His mother writes to one, "I have taken a 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 237 

very great fondness for reading Rollin's Ancient History, since you left 
me. I am determined to go through with it, if possible, in these days 
of my soHtude. I find great pleasure and entertainment from it, and 
have persuaded Johnny to read a page or two every day, and hope he 
will, from his desire to oblige me, entertain a fondness for it." " The 
child of seven years old," says Everett, " who reads a serious book 
with fondness, from his desire to oblige his mother, has entered the 
high road of usefulness and honor." 

An effective reminiscence of Mr. Adams was related by Robert C. 
Winthrop, at the Acton celebration, Oct. 29, 1851, which, remarked 
he, is "one of the most interesting personal incidents that I can 
look back upon in the course of a ten-years' service in Congress. It 
was an interview Avhich I had with our late venerated fellow-citizen. 
John Quincy Adams, about five or six years ago. It was on the floor 
of the capitol, not far from the spot where he soon afterwards fell. 
The house had adjourned one day somewhat suddenly, and at an 
early hour ; and it happened that after all the other members had left 
the hall, Mr. Adams and myself were left alone in our seats, engaged 
in our private correspondence. Presently the messengers came in 
rather unceremoniously to clean up the hall, and began to wield that 
inexorable implement wliich is so often the plague of men, both under 
public and private roofs. Disturbed by the noise and dust, I observed 
Mr. Adams approaching me with an unfolded letter in his hands. 
' Do you knoAV John J. Gurney 1 \ said he. ' I know him well, sir, 
by reputation ; but I did not have the pleasure of meeting him per- 
sonally when he was in America.' ' Well, he has been writing mc a 
letter, and I have been writing him an answer. He has been calling 
me to account for my course on the Oregon question, and taking 
me to task for what he calls my belligerent spirit and warlike tone 
towards England.' 

"And then the 'old man eloquent' proceeded to read tome, so 
far as it was finished, one of the most interesting letters I ever read 
or heard in my life. It was a letter of auto-biography, in which 
he described his parentage and early life, and in which he particu- 
larly alluded to the sources from which he derived his jealousy of 
Great Britain, and his readiness to resist her, even unto blood, when- 
ever he thought that she was encroaching on American rights. He 
said that he was old enough in 1775 to understand what his father was 
about in those days ; and he described the lessons wliich his mother 



238 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

taught him during his father's absence in attending the Congi-ess of 
independence. Every day, he said, after saying his prayers to God, 
he was required to repeat those exquisite stanzas of Colhns, which he 
had carefully transcribed in his letter, and which he recited to me with 
an expression and an energy which I shall never forget — the tears 
coursing do^vn his cheeks, and his voice, every now and then, choked 
with emotion : 

' How sleep the brave, who sink to rest, 

By all their country's wishes blest ! 

When spring, with dewy fingers cold, 

Returns to deck their hallowed mould. 

She there shall dress a sweeter sod 

Than Fancy's feet have ever trod. 

• By fairy hands their knell is rung ; 
By forms unseen their dirge is sung ; 
There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray, 
To bless the turf that wraps their clay, 
And Freedom shall a while repair. 

To dwell, a weeping hermit, there.' 

" And there was another ode, by the same author, which, he said, 
he was also obliged to repeat, as a part of this same morning exercise, — 
the ode, I believe, on the death of Col. Charles Ross, in the action at 
Fontenoy, one verse of which, with a slight variation, would not be 
inapplicable to your own Davis : 

* By rapid Scheld's descending wave. 

His country's vows shall bless the grave. 

Where'er the youth is laid ; 
That sacred spot the village hind 
With every sweetest turf shall bind. 

And Peace protect the shade. ' 

'•' Such, sir, was the education of at least one of our Massachusetts 
children at that day. And, though I do not suppose that all the 
mothers of 1775 were like Mrs. Adams, yet the great majority of 
them, we all know, had as much piety and patriotism, if not as much 
poetry, and their children were brought up at once in the nurture 
and admonition of the Lord and of liberty." 

In February, 1778, being then a lad in the eleventh year of his ago, 
he was taken to France by his father (in ship Boston, Capt. Tucker), 
who was sent by Congi-ess as joint commissioner with Benjamin 



JOHN QUINCT ADAMS. 239 

Franklin and Arthur Lee, to the court of France. During the pas- 
sage, they were exposed to extreme danger in a violent storm, and his 
father said of him, " I confess I often regretted that I had brought my 
son. I was not so clear that it was my duty to expose him as myself; 
but I had been led to it by the child's inclination, and by the advice 
of all my friends. Mr. Johnny's behavior gave me a satisfiction that 
I cannot express; fully sensible of our danger, he was constantly 
endeavoring to bear it with a manly patience, very attentive to me, and 
his thoughts constantly running in a serious strain. My little son is 
very proud of his knowledge of all the sails, and the captain put him 
to learn the mariner's compass." His father established himself at 
Passy, the residence of Franklin. Here he was sent to school, and 
acquired the French language. His dear mother, in writing to him, 
says : "I would much rather you should have found your grave in the 
ocean you have crossed, or that any untimely death should crop you in 
your infant years, than see you an immoral, profligate, or graceless 
child." And his father, in writing to his mother under date of 1779. 
says, young John " is respected wherever he goes, for his vigor and 
vivacity both of mind and body, for his constant good humor, and for 
his rapid progress in French, as well as for his general knowledge, 
which at his age is uncommon." The treaty of alliance being consum- 
mated, John Adams returned with his son, and arrived at Boston Aug. 
2, 1779. 

In 1781, when only fourteen years of age, he became private secre- 
tary to Hon. Francis Dana, the minister to Russia. He remained at 
St. Petersburg until October, 1782, when he left Mr. Dana, and 
journeyed alone to Holland, where he joined his father, April, 1783. 
After the treaty at Paris, signed in September of that year, he went 
to the court of St. James with his father, which occurred in 1785. He 
was a remarkably precocious youth, and since he was twelve years old 
had talked with men. Mr. Jefferson, then minister at Paris, in writ- 
ing to Mr. Gerry, says : " I congratulate your country on their pros- 
pect in this young man." 

In 178G he was admitted at Harvard College at an advanced stand- 
ing, and graduated in 1787. The subject of his oration evinces the 
maturity of liis mind; it was on " The Importance and Necessity of 
Public Faith to the Well-being of a Community." He entered on 
the study of law under the instruction of the celebrated Theophilus 
Parsons, at Newburyport ; and in 1790 he commenced legal practice, 



240 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

which he continued until 1794, during which period he pronounced the 
oration at the head of this article, and became a Hberal contributor of 
political essays in Russell's Centinel, over the signatures of Pubhcola 
and Marcellus, which developed the true policy of union at home, and 
independence of all foreign combinations abroad. Over " Colum- 
bus " he also advocated a national neutral policy toward foreign 
nations. 

Washington, in 1794, appointed Mr. Adams minister to the Hague, 
who remained in Europe on public business un^il his recall by his 
father, the successor of Washington. In 1797, our first president 
declared that he was "the most valuable public character we have 
abroad, and the ablest of all our diplomatic corps." On the 26th 
of July, 1797, Mr. Adams was married to Louisa, the daughter of 
Joshua Johnson, of ]\Iaryland, then acting as consular agent of the 
United States at London, who for more than fifty years was the 
partner of his afiections and fortunes. 

In 1801 he was elected to the Senate of his native State, and in 
1803 he was elected to the Senate of the United States. This station 
in the national councils he filled until he became obnoxious to the 
Legislature of his native State, from the support which he gave to 
parts of Jefferson's administration ; and, in consequence, he resigned 
his seat, in March, 1808. He was the first Boylston Professor of 
Rhetoric and Oratory in Harvard College, from 1806 to 1809. In 
1810 he published his lectures on rhetoric and oratory, in two 
volumes, 8vo. At this period he was confirmed as minister to Russia, 
on the nomination of Madison, and was abroad eight years. In 
1814 he was one of the commissioners who negotiated, at Ghent, the 
treaty of peace which closed the second war between Great Britain 
and the United States. In 1815 Mr Adams was appointed minister 
to the court of St. James, under Madison. In 1817 he returned to 
America, and discharged the duties of Secretary of State during the 
whole administration of President Monroe. It will be recollected 
that Andrew Jackson said, at this period, of Mr. Adams, that he was 
•' the fittest person for the office ; a man who would stand by the 
country in the hour of danger." 

In 1825 Mr. Adams was elected to the presidency of the United 
States by the National House of Representatives, on the first ballot. 
His administration, in its principles and policy, Avas similar to that of 
his very popular predecessor. Not long after Mr. Adams was sue- 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 241 

ceeded by Andrew Jackson, he wrote to a friend, saying, "One of the 
most pathetic and terrible passages in that masterpiece of Shakspeare 
and of the drama is that exclamation of the dying Hamlet : 

' God ! Horatio, what a wounded name 
Things standing thus unknown shall live behind me ! ' 

I cannot describe to you the thrill with which I first read these lines, 
generalizing the thought as one of the melancholy conditions of human 
life and death ; nor say to you how often, in the course of my long 
career, I have applied these lines to myself. My name, conduct and 
character, have been many years open to the constant inspection of a 
large portion of the civilized world. Of that portion Avhose notice 
they have attracted, I am deeply conscious that the estimate they have 
formed of me has been and is neither just nor kind." But it is equally 
certain, says Lunt, that, between the time when the words just quoted 
were penned and liis death, he lived long enough to have his name 
vindicated. He continued on the stage of action till he could put his 
ear to the confessional of posterity, and hear much that must have 
gratified a mind conscious of high aims and patriotic endeavors. 

Mr. Adams pronounced eulogies on his two immediate predecessors, 
at the request of the city authorities of Boston. " Too happy should 
I be," said Mr. Adams, " if, with a voice speaking from the last to the 
coming generation of my country, I could effectively urge them to seek, 
in the temper and moderation of James Madison, that healing balm 
•which assuages the malignity of the deepest-seated political disease, 
redeems to life the rational mind, and restores to health the incorpo- 
rated union of our country, even from the brain fever of party strife." 
And of James Monroe he emphasized, that he was of a mind anxious 
and unwearied in the pursuit of truth and right, patient of inquiry, 
patient of contradiction, courteous even in the collision of sentiment, 
sound in ultimate judgments, and firm in its final conclusions. In his 
administration strengthening and consolidating the federative edifice of 
his country's union, till he was entitled to say, like Augustus Caesar 
of his imperial city, that he had found her built of brick, and left her 
constructed of marble. 

Mr. Adams, ever ready for pohtical life, once more put on the har- 
ness, and served ten successive years as Representative in Congress 
from the twelfth district of Massachusetts, until, in 1842, upon a new 
21 



242 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

distribution of political power, he vras elected to represent the eighth 
district of his native State, where he was succeeded by Horace ISIann. 

In the autumn of the year 1833, Hon. John Quincy Adams was 
unanimously nominated, at a large convention of the Anti-masonic 
party, as their candidate for the office of Governor of Massachusetts. 
The result was a triangular contest, at the election, between the three 
pohtical parties into which the State was divided, and the failure of a 
choice. The election devolved on the State Legislature, on which Mr. 
Adams withdrew from the contest. During the periods of 1831 and 
1833, Mr. Adams published, in papers of the day, a series of letters 
to eminent persons on the nature and tendency of Freemasonry. We 
select a striking passage from his letter to Hon. EdAvard Livingston, 
Secretary of State, and Grand High Priest of the U. S. Royal Arch 
Chapter of Masonry. 

" When John Milton," says Mr. Adams, "published his Paradise 
Lost, Andrew Marvell declared that he for some time misdoubted his 
intent, — 

' That he ■would ruiu 
The sacred truths to fable and old song.' 

And he adds, — 

' Or, if a -work so infinite be spanned, 
Jealous I was that some less skilful hand 
Might hence presume the whole creation's day 
To change in scenes, and show it in a play.' 

"That which the penetrating sagacity and sincere piety of Andrew 
Marvell apprehended as an evil which might result even from the sub- 
lime strains of the Paradise Lost, is precisely what the contrivers of the 
Masonic mysteries have effected. They have travestied the awful and 
miraculous supernatural communications of the ineffable Jehovah to 
his favored people into stage-plays. That Word, which in the begin- 
ning was with God, and was God ; that abstract, incorporeal, essential, 
and ever-living existence ; that eternal presence, without past, without 
future time ; that Being, without beginning of days or end of years, 
declared to INIoses under the name of I Am that I Am, — the moun- 
tebank juggleries of Masonry turn into a farce. A companion of the 
Royal Arch personates Almighty God, and declares himself the Being 
of all eternity, — I Am that I Am. Your intention, in the perform- 
ance of this ceremony, is to strike the imagination of the candidate 
with terror and amazement. I acquit the fraternity, therefore, of 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 243 

blasphemy; but I cannot acquit them of extreme indiscretion, and 
inexcusable abuse of the Holy Scriptures. The sealed obligation, the 
drinking of wine from a human skull, is a ceremony not less objection- 
able. This you know, sir, is the scene in which the candidate takes 
the skull in his hand and says, ' As the sins of the whole Avorld were 
laid upon the head of our Saviour, so may the sins of the person Avhose 
skull tliis once was be heaped upon my head in addition to my own. 
and may they appeax in judgment against me both here and hereafter, 
should I violate any obligation in Masonry, or the orders of knight- 
hood, which I have heretofore taken, take at this time, or may be here- 
after instructed in, — so help me God ! ' and he drinks the wine from 
the skull. And is not this enough ? No ; the Knight Templar takes 
an oath, containing many promises, binding himself under no less pen- 
alty than to have his head struck off and placed on the highest spire in 
Christendom, should he knowingly or willingly violate any part of his 
solemn obligation of a Knight Templar." 

The fearless stand which Mr. Adams maintained through all the 
storm and tempest of opposition on the right of petition, says Water- 
ston, alone were enough to give him immortality. He looked upon 
slavery as the unmitigated curse of his country. He loathed it with 
an utter detestation ; and when the slave-power refused to hear the cry 
that was coming more and more loudly from distant sections of the 
land, and trampled beneath its feet the holiest privileges of the consti- 
tution, the fire in his soul kindled. His efforts and his triumphs at 
that time will never be forgotten. 

We have an important political reminiscence of this period, related 
by President Millard Fillmore, in an address to the people of Frcder- 
icksburgh, Va., June, 1851, on his arrival in that city. Mr. Fillmore 
was a colleague of Mr. Adams in Congress : "I had an old and val- 
ued friend, — one whom I esteemed, yet who possessed some eccentric- 
ities and peculiar notions of political duty which I did not approve. I 
need not say that I allude to the venerable Mr. Adams. You are all 
well aware that he was early imbued with the principle, upon which he 
universally practised, that every citizen had the right to be heard in Con- 
gress by his petition ; and that he was often made the medium of pre- 
senting to the house matters of which he entirely disapproved. His 
maxim Avas, that every citizen had the right to petition, and that it was 
the duty of Congress to consider such petition. Acting upon this 
known principle, he was often played upon, doubtless, by those who were 



244 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

influenced by mischievous purposes. I well recollect, on one occasion, 
that he rose and stated to the house that he had received a petition of 
a very peculiar character, the sentiments of which he did not approve ; 
but, on the principle upon which he universally acted, he felt it to be 
his duty to present it to the house. He stated that it was a petition 
from certain citizens whose names were signed to it, praying for a dis- 
solution of the Union ; but, for the purpose of freeing himself from 
the imputation of favoring such a sentiment, he, at the same time that 
he discharged his duty in the presentation of the petition, felt it also 
to be his duty to accompany it Avith a resolution that it be referred to a 
select committee, with positive instructions to report against the prayer 
of the petitioners. What were the proceedings upon that occasion ? 
This annunciation was no sooner made in the House of Representatives, 
than the whole house seemed to be in a ferment ; and in a very few 
moments a resolution was introduced for the purpose of expelling Mr. 
Adams from the house, for having dared to introduce a petition there 
for a dissolution of the Union, although accompanied at the same 
time Avith a positive declaration on his part that he was opposed to it, 
and an appeal to the house to sanction his sentiments on the subject. 
But what do we see now ? Ten years have not elapsed since that scene 
took place, and since that man who for four years had discharged the 
duties of Chief Magistrate of this Union stood at the bar of that 
house, and morning after morning came to me and asked of me not to 
move the public business, so as to force a vote on the resolution expel- 
ling him from the house, until he had a chance to be heard. He 
feared that he might be expelled from that body, for doing what he 
deemed to be liis imperative duty, in preservation of the right of peti- 
tion, although ho was imbued with the strongest sentiments in favor of 
the Union of these States. I was forced, from a feeling of sympathy 
and regard for him, to suffer the public business to be delayed, from 
day to day, for one or two weeks, in order that he might present his 
sentiments to the house on the subject, to convince them that, although 
he presented a petition for the dissolution of the Union, he did not 
approve of those sentiments. I doubt Avhether anything short of that 
could have saved this distinguished man from expulsion from that 
body." 

" The patriotism of Mr. Adams," says Horace Mann, his successor in 
Congress, " was coextensive with his country; it could not be crushed 
and squeezed in between party lines. Though liable to err, — and 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 245 

■what human being is not ? — yet his principles were believed by him 
to be in accordance with the great moral laws of the universe. They 
were thought out from duty and religion, and not carved out from expe- 
diency. When invested with patronage, he never dismissed a man from 
office because he was a political opponent, and never appointed one to 
office merely because he was a political friend. Hence he drew from 
Mr. Holmes, of South Carohna, this noble eulogium, — a eulogium, 
considering the part of the country from which it came, as honorable 
to its author as to its object,— that ' he crushed no heart beneath the 
rude grasp of proscription ; he left no heritage of widows' cries or 
orphans' tears.' Could all the honors which Mr. Adams ever won 
from offices held under the first five presidents of the United States, 
and from a public service which, commencing more than fifty years 
ago, continued to the day of his death, be concentrated in one effulgent 
blaze, they would be far less shining and inextinguishable than the 
honor of sacrificing his election for a second presidential term, because 
he would not, in order to obtain it, prostitute the patronage and power 
which the constitution had placed in his hands. I regard this as the 
sublimest spectacle in his long and varied career. He stood within 
reach of an object of ambition doubtless dearer to him than life. He 
could have laid his hands upon it. The still small voice said. No ! 
Without a murmur, he saw it taken and borne away in triumph by 
another. Compared with this, the block of many a martyr has been ^ 
an easy resting-place." 

Perhaps one of the most remarkable features of his mind was the 
universality of its acquirements. There Avas hardly a subject upon 
which he had not thought, and few upon which he was not yvise. The 
amount of his information was immense. He was well versed in polit- 
ical economy, and all matters pertaining to civil government. As a 
philologist, he passed much time in critical research. He was skilled 
in science and art. Philosophy had not been neglected, and religion 
was a subject of laborious study. He was thoroughly versed in gen- 
eral literature ; was passionately fond of poetry, and the words of our 
great dramatic and epic poets were fiimiliar to him as household words. 
The wide sweep of history seemed to lay clearly open to his mind ; 
while he was intimate, also, with its minutest details, and could repeat 
names and dates as if they had been the sole subject of his thoughts. 
By the wonderful power of his memory, he seemed able to recall what- 
ever he read, or saw, or heard. He repeated, without limit, passages from 
21* 



246 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

books in various languages. To him, the events and characters of past 
history were like the occurrences of to-day. And the circumstances of 
his own life, back to his early childhood, seemed clothed in transparent 
light. Conversations he had enjoyed with persons more than a half- 
century back, he could recall at pleasure ; and the varied scenes he had 
Avitnessed stood out like pictures before his view. Quick in feeling, 
indignant at injustice and wrong, there was at times impetuosity ; and, 
when occasion called for it, his Avords were like consuming lightning, 
and shattered what they struck. No man could be more witheringly 
severe, — withering with terrific truth. But then he was also simple 
as a child, and naturally overflowing with genial affection. Of few 
could it be more aptly said : 

" He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one ; 
Exceeding wise, fair-spoken, and persuading : 
Lofty and sour to them that loved him not ; 
But to those men that sought him, sweet as summer." 

A few years before his decease, Mr. Adams was invited, by the 
school-committee of the town of Quincy, to accompany them in their 
round of visits to the several district schools in the town. He com- 
phed very readily ; gave his attention, during a session of three hours 
in the forenoon and three in the afternoon of each day, to the lessons 
of the pupils ; and entered into the humble work before him with as 
much animation of manner as he would have evinced in political dis- 
cussions, or in managing the affairs of a nation. Lord Bacon has said 
that " he who cannot contract the sight of his mind, as well as disperse 
and dilate it, wanteth a great quality." This mark of true greatness 
was not wanting in President Adams. 

On the first day of the indisposition of Mr. Adams, he gave his sig- 
nature to the effusion herewith, laid aside in his desk in the hall of 
Congress, addressed to the Muse of History, perched on her rook- 
wheeled and winged car over the front door of the House of Repre- 
sentatives at Washington : 

" Muse ! quit thy car, come down upon the floor. 
And with thee bring that volume in thy hand ; 

Rap with thy marble knuckles at the door. 
And take at a reporter's desk thy stand. 

Send round thy album, and collect a store 
Of autographs from rulers of the land ; 

Invite each Solon to inscribe his name, 

A self-recorded candidate for fame." 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 247 

Mr. Adams, on the 21st of February, 1848, entered the hall of 
the House of Representatives apparently in his usual health and spirits. 
When the house had been in session about an hour, the yeas and nays 
being ordered on the question of a vote of the thanks of Congress, 
and awarding gold medals, to Generals Twiggs, Worth, Pillow, Shields, 
Quitman, and others, for their services in the Mexican war, Mr. Adams 
responded in the negative in a voice unusually clear, and with more than 
ordinary emphasis. After the speaker had risen to put another ques- 
tion to the house, a sudden cry was heard on the left of the chair, 
" Mr. Adams is dying ! " Turning their eyes to the spot, the mem- 
bers beheld the venerable man in the act of falling over the left 
arm of his chair, while his right arm was extended, grasping his desk 
for support. He Avould have dropped upon the floor, had he not been 
caught in the arms of the member sitting next to him. A great sensa- 
tion was created in the house ; members from all quarters rushing 
from their seats, and gathering round the fallen statesman, who was 
immediately lifted into the area in front of the clerk's table. The 
speaker instantly suggested that some gentleman move an adjourn- 
ment, which being promptly done, the house adjourned. A sofa 
was brought, and Mr. Adams, in a state of perfect helplessness, 
though not of entire insensibility, was gently laid upon it. The sofa 
was then taken up and borne out of the hall into the rotunda, where it 
was set down ; and the members of both houses, and strangers who 
were fast crowding around, were with some difficulty repressed, and an 
open space cleared in its immediate vicinity ; but a medical gentleman, 
a member of the house, advised that he be removed to the door of the 
rotunda, opening on the east portico, where a fresh wind was blowing. 
This Avas done ; but, the air being cliilly and loaded with vapor, the 
sofa was, at the suggestion of Mr. Winthrop, once more taken up and 
removed to the speaker's apartment, the doors of which were forthwith 
closed to all but professional gentlemen and particular friends. While 
lying in this apartment, Mr. Adams partially recovered the use of his 
speech, and observed, in faltering accents, " This is the end of earth; " 
but quickly added, " I am composed." Members had by this time 
reached Mr. Adams' abode with the melancholy intelligence, and soon 
after, Mrs. Adams and his nephew and niece arrived, and made their 
way to the appalling scene. Mrs. Adams was deeply affected, and for 
some moments quite prostrated, by the sight of her husband, now 
insensible, the pallor of death upon his countenance, and those sad pre- 



248 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

monitories fast making their appearance -wliicli full ^itli such a chill 
upon the heart, 

Mr. Adams, after having been removed to the apartment of Speaker 
"Winthrop, sank into a state of apparent insensibility, and expired at a 
quarter past seven o'clock, on the evening of Feb. 23, 1848. 



JOHN PHILLIPS. 

JULY i, 1794. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

This production bears the finest marks of intellectual vigor and cor- 
rect principles ; and so well was it received, that extracts from it were 
for a long time going the rounds in the newspapers of the day, and 
some of these passages have a permanent place in our school-books, as 
models for our youth. We will glean a passage : " The effects of 
the event we this day commemorate were not confined to our own 
country, but soon extended across the Atlantic. The prospect of 
humbling a powerful rival induced an arbitrary prince to aid the 
American cause with numerous armies and powerful fleets, exhibiting 
tlie paradoxical appearance of slavery fighting the battles of freedom. 
The subjects of despotism soon imbibed the principles they were 
employed to defend, and caught the ardor which flamed in the Amer- 
ican bosom. Surrounding circumstances led to reflections highly unfa- 
vorable to their own situation. They perceived the tree of liberty 
profusely watered with their blood ; its foliage spreading, yet yielding 
them no shelter ; its fruit blooming and mellowing in luxuriance, yet 
denied the delicious taste, it excited no passion but despair. When 
the mandate of their sovereign summoned them to their native shores, 
a deeper horror seemed to shade the darkness of despotism. They 
beheld, with mingled grief and indignation, a people in the most fertile 
country of Europe, amid the profusion of the bounties of nature, 
obliged to live on the gleanings of their own industry. The scanty pit- 
tance, saved from the exactions of arbitrary power, yielded by igno- 
rance and superstition, to satisfy the boundless demands of a rapacious 
clergy. A kingdom converted to a Bastile, in which the mind was 
imprisoned by a triple impenetrable wall of ignorance, superstition, 
and despotism. The fervid spirit which glowed within them soon per- 



JOHN PHILLIPS. 249 

vaded their country, and threatened destruction to their government. 
On the first favorable contingency, the enthusiastic energies of reviving 
Freedom burst the cerements which had confined it for two thousand 
years, and the Gothic fabric of feudal absurdity, with all its pompous 
pageants, colossal pillars and proscriptive bulwarks, the wonder and 
veneration of ages, was instantly levelled with the dust. 

"An astonished world viewed with awful admiration the stupendous 
Avreck. They beheld, with pleasing exultation, the fair fabric of 
Freedom rising in simple proportion and majestic grace upon the mighty 
ruin. The gloomy horrors of despotism fled before the splendid eiful- 
gence of the sun of liberty. The potent rays of science pierced the 
mist of ignorance and error, ' republican visions were realized, and the 
reign of reason appeared to commence its splendid progress.' But the 
whirlwind of discord threatened to raze the fabric from its foundation. 
The lowering clouds of contention hung around, and darkened the 
liorizon. Fayette, the apostle of liberty, Avas abandoned by the people 
whom he saved, and became a victim to despotic cruelty and coward- 
ice. The damp, poisonous exhalations of a gloomy dungeon now 
encircle and chill that bosom, whose philanthropy was coextensive with 
the universe, whose patriotism no power could extinguish, no dan- 
gers appal. But, illuminated by the rectitude of thy heart and the 
magnanimity of thy virtue, the trickling dews of thy prison- walls shall 
sparkle with more enviable lustre than the most luminous diadem that 
ghtters on the brow of the haughtiest emperor." The apostrophe to 
Lafayette was uttered at the precise time when the patriot was lan- 
guishing in the dungeon of Olmutz. 

John Phillips, a son of William Philhps and Margaret, a daughter 
of Jacob Wendell, was born in Boston, Nov. 26, 1770. His mother 
was a lady of fervent piety ; and Eev. Dr. Palfrey relates that her son 
informed him that his mother, at the last interview when she "was able 
to sustain a connected conversation, on the occasion of an assurance from 
him that her directions should be strictly fulfilled after her death, 
raised herself, and, addressing him in a manner of the most emphatic 
solemnity, she charged him to remember then the many ofiicial oaths 
he had taken. His birthplace was on the ancient Phillips estate, now 
known as No. 39 Washington-street, where his widowed mother kept 
a dry-goods shop for many years. 

When seven years of age, he entered Phillips' Academy, at Ando- 
ver, founded by his relatives, where he received instruction, residing 



-oO THE HUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

in the flimily of Lieut. Gov. Samuel Phillips, until he entered Harvard 
College in 1784. After his graduation, Avhen he gave the salutatory 
oration, he read law with Judge Dawes, the successor of Oliver Wen- 
dell, in Suflfolk Probate. On being of age, he was admitted to practice 
in the Suffolk bar, and in 1794 married Sally, daughter of Thomas 
Walley, a merchant and selectman of Boston. 

In the year 1800, says Knapp, the population of Boston had so 
much increased that it was found necessary to petition the Legisla- 
ture to establish a Municipal Court of criminal jurisdiction for the 
county of Suffolk. The Supreme Judicial Court, and the Common 
Pleas, had become burdened by the numerous entries on the criminal 
side of the docket; and parties in civil actions suffered tedious 
delays, while the courts were engaged in jail delivery. The Muni- 
cipal Court was established in 1800, and George Richards Minot 
became its first judge, and John Phillips was selected as a public pros- 
ecutor, to vindicate the majesty of the laws. He was annually elected 
town advocate for this purpose, until he was succeeded by Peter 0. 
Thacher. Li 1803 he was elected a representative, and in 1804 he 
was sent to the Senate, which station he occupied for twenty years, and 
was president of this body for ten years. Li 1809 he became a judge 
of the Court of Common Pleas, until that court was abolished for 
another on a new model. In 1820 Mr. Phillips was elected to the 
convention for revising the constitution of the State, where he dis- 
played great wisdom and playful humor. Li remarks on the third 
article of the bill of rights, on which there was great diversity of opin- 
ion, he urged its indefinite postponement, saying it was well to remem- 
ber the adage, When you know not what to do, take care not to do you 
know not what. He hoped they should not resemble the man who had 
the epitaph on his tombstone, "I was well; I would be better, and 
here I am." 

In 1812 Mr. Phillips was elected a member of the corporation of 
Harvard College, which station he filled until his decease, and was 
frequently moderator of the town-meetings of the old town of 
Boston. 

Mr. Pliillips was chairman of the committee of twelve who reported 
a city charter, which was adopted by the town on January 1, 1822. 
One attempt having been made to elect a mayor, without success, Mr. 
Phillips was solicited to stand as candidate, in order to effect a union ; 
and he received nearly a unanimous vote. He was inaugurated, 



JOHN PHILLIPS, 251 

May 1. 1822. A powerful minority of the citizens decidedly preferred 
the patriarchal system of the selectmen. Others decidedly advocated 
reform and energetic measures. In acting out the principles of the 
charter, Mayor Phillips was kind, conciliatory, and conservative. 
Such was the general confidence at the time in his taste and judgment, 
that he could have taken what direction he preferred in regard to the 
mode in which the mayor should in future bear the forms of office. 
Some were for display and pomp. Mr. Phillips preferred republican 
simplicity, and probably, by his example, we are saved the trappings 
of a lord mayor's day, or any profuseness at an annual organization of 
the city authorities. Mayor Quincy, his successor, said, " The first 
administration have laid the foundation of the prosperity of our city 
deep, and on right principles ; and whatever success may attend those 
who come after them, they will be largely indebted for it to the wisdom 
and fidelity of their predecessors." The course of his control over the 
city government was unruflled as Lake Ontario on a calm, sunny day, 
and a striking contrast to the measures of his successor, whose opera- 
tions, like the rushings of the resistless Niagara, in its vicinity, washed 
away the old landmarks, when Boston lost its identity as a town. 

As a speaker, Mr. Phillips was clear, forcible, conciliatory and 
judicious. His voice was strong, without harshness, and his words 
flowed without any great effort. If he never gave any striking speci- 
men of eloquence, he certainly never mortified his friends by a failure 
in debate, so often the misfortune amongst those who sometimes reach 
the sublime. He was not unfrequently, in the course of a week, called 
to make speeches before several different bodies of men, on various 
subjects, — pohtical, educational, commercial, financial or philanthroj^ic, 
— and at all times he was listened to with profound attention and 
pleasure ; and probably no cotemporary of any standing, in a moment 
of rivalry, could say to him, " My advice is as often followed as yours, 
and the influence you have I have also." 

Mayor Phillips was of the common height in stature. His face was 
oval, with expressive eyes, and his cheeks were of a very ruddy hue ; 
with partially gray hair, like a half-poATdered dressing, and very neat 
attire. His appearance as president of the Senate, or at the meetings of 
the municipal authorities, was manly and dignified. In his countenance 
there was a peculiar calmness, indicative of that purity of heart for 
which he was greatly distinguished. Indeed, from the decease of his 
excellent mother, there was more than a commonly serious train of 



2o2 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

thought in his letters and conversation ; and it is not singular that the 
last impressions of a man should be religious, who learned to pray as 
ho learned his alphabet, in his mother's arms, and, at school, was as 
careful to commit his biblical lesson as to retain his classical studies. 
He presided in the Senate on the day previous to his death, and Avas a 
spectator at the delivery of the election sermon at the Old South 
Church. In the course of the succeeding night he became so unwell 
as to require the attendance of a physician, and in the morning he for 
a short time appeared relieved, but, on a relapse of spasms, occasioned 
by an ossification of the heart, at nine o'clock in the morning he 
expired. May 29, 1823. The clamorous notes of fame, breathed over 
the conqueror's bier, have no music in them, without the conception of 
indestructible virtue in his mind, as it shone in Phillips. 

The ancestor of the Phillips family of New England was Rev. 
George Phillips, of Raymond, Norfolk county, Old England, who came 
to America in 1630, and was the first minister of Watertown. The 
children of Mayor Phillips were Thomas Walley, H. C. 1814 ; George 
W., H. C. 1829; Wendell, H. C. 1831, ever active in the cause of 
humanity, a graceful speaker and fine classical scholar ; Grenville 
Tudor, H. C. 1836; John C, H. C. 1826, in the ministry; Sarah 
H., married Alonzo Gray, of Brookline; Margaret W., married Dr. 
Edward Reynolds, of Boston ; Miriam, married Rev. Dr. Blagden, of 
the Old South Church. The eldest son was for many years clerk of 
Sufiblk Municipal Court. It were glory enough to have had such a 
family, and lived in the shades of retirement, without being in elevated 
public stations. Blessings on the memory of the first mayor of Boston ! 
Mr. Otis, a successor, said of him, that " his aim was to allure, and 
not to repel ; to reconcile by gentle reform, not to revolt by startling 
mnovation, — so that, while he led us into a new and fairer creation, 
we felt ourselves surrounded by the scenes and comforts of home." 

" His hand and heart both open and both free, 
For what he has he gives, — what thinks, he shows ; 
Yet gives he not till judgment guides his bounty 
Nor dignifies an impure thought with breath." 



GEORGE BLAKE. 253 



GEORGE BLAKE. 

JULY 4, 1795. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

The impassioned and declamatory oration of Mr. Blake is strongly 
evincive of the zeal of a youthful politician : " The whole continent of 
America, according to ministerial calculations, was destined to become 
a mere appendage to the patrimonial inheritance of George the Third ; 
and the people of America, like the dragon of Hesperides, would have 
been allowed the honor to cherish and protect the fruit of which they 
were refused the power to participate. A project so infernal in its 
design, at the same time so uncertain in its event, could have been 
generated but by a ministry in the very dotage of wickedness, approved 
but by a monarch in leading-strings, and seconded only by the 
unthinking automatons who never move or act but from the impulse of 
their sovereign. In justice, however, to the more rational part of that 
deluded people, we shall not forget the feeling remonstrances which 
were poured forth by the purer spirits of the kingdom. But in vain ! 
In vain did a Chatham, and a Camden, like the oracles of old, foresee 
and pronounce the fatal issue that awaited the measures of their gov- 
ernment." Again Mr. Blake says, " Parhament, by their usual sanc- 
tity of pretension, could no longer conceal the malignity of their 
designs. That secret cabinet of iniquity was now thrown open, and, 
behold ! like the den of the Cyclops, it exhibited a group of demons 
busied in forging engines of destruction, — in fabricating chains, dag- 
gers, and fetters, to enslave or destroy her devoted colonies." 

George Blake was a descendant of William Blake, the common 
ancestor, who died at Dorchester, Oct. 25, 1663, and bequeathed by 
his will funds for keeping a fence or wall around the burying-ground 
in Dorchester, to keep hogs and other vermin from rooting up the 
bodies of the saints. George, the subject of this outline, was born at 
Hardwick, Mass., 1769, and graduated at Harvard College in 1789, 
when he took part in a conference with Samuel Haven — "Whether 
unlimited toleration be prejudicial to the cause of religion." He was a 
student at law under Governor Sullivan, and admitted to the bar in 
1794. He settled in the practice of law in Boston, when he delivered 
the oration at the request of the town. On the same day. Gov. 
22 



254 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Samuel Adams laid the comer-stone of the State-house in Boston, 
who said, "May the principles of our excellent constitution, founded 
in nature and in the rights of man, be ably defended here;" and in 
the year previous, Gov. Adams said, in Faneuil Hall, at the celebration 
of the destruction of the Bastile in Paris, " May the laurel of victory 
never -wither on the brow of repubhcanism." Mr. Blake married 
Rachel Baty, who died in early life, and he married a second time 
Sarah Murdock. On the fourth of February, 1800, Mr. Blake dehv- 
ered a eulogy on Washington, for St. John's Lodge. In 1801 he was 
appointed the United States District Attorney for Massachusetts, at 
which time he was a representative in the State Legislature. Mr. 
Blake was a delegate to the JNLassachusetts State convention for the 
revision of the State constitution, in 1820. His speeches on important 
topics were frequent, and no man displayed a keener jealousy for the 
democracy, or readier adroitness of conception. In his speech on sen- 
atorial apportionment, he remarked that he considered the constitution 
of this commonwealth the purest and most perfect model of republican 
government that ever existed on the face of the globe. There cannot 
be found in any State, or in the world, a constitution so free and so 
liberal as that of Massachusetts, which we now have, independent of 
any amendments which may be proposed. He had been a republican 
in the most gloomy times, — it was fashionable to be republican now, — 
and he should not be disposed to desert repubhcanism at such a time. 
He said that he had used the other day a very improper figure, when 
he called the Senate the rich man's citadel. It was no more the 
citadel of the rich than of the poor man. It was the only branch of 
the government which was particularly designed for the protection of 
property, and the protection was as important for those who have little 
as for those who have much. Mr. Blake opposed the investiture of 
Boston into a city corporation, and also opposed the city charter, as 
subversive of democracy. He was the first Democratic candidate for 
the mayoralty. In 1829 Mr. Blake resigned his ofiice of District 
Attorney, and was again elected to the House, until his advance to the 
Senate, in 1833. He was profound in legal acquirement, and liis 
forensic powers were of a high order. His control over the jm-y was 
often irresistible. The propriety and elegance of his diction, and his 
fervor in debate, excited admiration. He was an active leader of the 
Democratic party, and a frequent contributor to the Worcester 
National iEgis, edited by his brother, Francis Blake, and a decided 



JOHN LATIIROP, JR. 255 

advocate of the measures of Jefferson. His speeches in General Court, 
and learned arguments at the bar, were often pubhshed. All that 
Mr. Blake said Avas delivered 

" in such apt and gracious -words 

That younger ears played truant at his tale. 
And older hearings were quite ravished, 
So voluble and sweet was his discourse." 

He died October 6, 1841. 



JOHN LATHROP, JR. 

JULY i, 1796. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

In the nervous and patriotic performance of our orator, we have 
this happy exordium : " It is now acknowledged as a fact in political 
biography, that Liberty descended from heaven on the 4th of July, 
1776. We are assembled on this day, the twentieth anniversary of 
her advent, to sympathize in those pleasures which none but freemen 
can enjoy, to exchange those mutual congratulations which none but 
freemen can express. 

" The first promulgation of the gospel of liberty was the declaration 
of American independence. Her apostles, the venerable Congress, 
whose mode of evangelizing made many a Felix tremble, sealed the 
doom and issued the death-warrant of despotism. The measure of 
her iniquity was filled up. The decree was gone forth, and Amer- 
icans were elected by God to redeem from bondage the miserable 
victims of arbitrary power. But it would have been of no avail for 
them to publish to the enslaved the beauties of freedom, describe her 
charms, and urge the duty of possessing her, while they themselves 
were declared, by an act of the British legislature, liable to be bounden 
by the will and laws of that overbearing kingdom, ' in all cases what- 
soever.' They disdained an inconsistency of character, — they pre- 
sented the world with a glorious example, by effecting their own 
emancipation. Yes, my fellow-countrymen ! you indignantly refused 
a base submission to the usurpation of Great Britain — to the imposi- 
tions of her Parliament, and the insolence of her ministry. After 
opposing reasoning and argument to her absurd pretensions, and digni- 



256 THE HUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

lied remonstrance to her unjustifiable encroachments, the solemn appeal 
■\vas made to Heaven, — the sword was drawn, and the once inseparable 
tie of connection between the two countries severed in twain. The 
mighty blow resounded through the universe. The nations of the 
earth were astonished, dumb with surprise, or trembhng with appre- 
hension. The deep-rooted thrones of aged monarchies were shaken to 
their centres. The Bastiles of tyranny, riven by the shock, reluctantly 
admitted the rays of hope to gladden the desponding hearts of their 
wretched tenants, and opened to their view a distant prospect of 
scenes illumined with Liberty's full and perfect day." 

John Lathrop was born in Boston, January, 1772. His father was 
pastor of the New Brick Church, of which Cotton Mather had been 
the minister. Owing to differences in the church, which originated 
the New North Church, when Rev. Peter Thacher w^as its first 
pastor, the New Brick Society elevated the figure of a cock, as a vane, 
upon the steeple, out of derision to ]\Ir. Thacher, whose Christian 
name was Peter, says Eliot, and, taking advantage of a north wind, 
which turned the head of the cock towards the New North Church, 
when it was placed upon the spindle, a merry felloAV sat astride over 
it, and crowed three times, to complete the ceremony. Rev. Dr. 
Lathrop was a fervent patriot ; and, on the Sunday after the massacre 
in King-street, delivered a sermon, which was printed, entitled " Inno- 
cent Blood Crying to God from the Streets of Boston." The subject 
of this outline pursued the study of law under Christopher Gore, but 
he was soon known more as a poet than a lawyer, as his poetry 
appeared in the journals. Li 1797, after the delivery of the oration 
at the head of this article, he removed to Dedham, and became clerk 
of Norfolk courts, but soon returned to Boston, where he became an 
intimate with Paine and Prentiss, the poets. 

In 1799 he made a voyage to Calcutta, where he hoped the patron- 
age of the Marquis of Wellesley. In the ardor of his zeal for 
instructing the rising generation of Calcutta, Mr. Lathrop presented to 
the Marquis of Wellesley, then governor-general, a plan of an insti- 
tution at which the youths of India might receive an education, patron- 
ized by government, without going to England for that purpose. In 
an interview with his lordship, Mr. Lathrop urged with great eloquence 
the advantages of such a plan ; but his lordship decidedly opposed 
him, remarking, with vehemence, "No, no, sir; India is, and ever 
ought to be, a colony of Great Britain ; the seeds of independence 



JOHN CALLENDER. 257 

must not be sown here. Establishing a seminary in New England at 
so early a period of time hastened your revolution half a century." 
He established a school for the instruction of youth, and became a 
writer for the Calcutta Post ; and, after a ten years' residence, returned 
to his country. His first wife was daughter of Joseph Peirce, Esq.. 
whom he married in 1793 ; and he married a second time, — Miss 
Bell, of Calcutta. His work on the manners and customs of India 
was never published. On his return to Boston, he taught a school, 
delivered lectures on natural philosophy, published songs and orations, 
and contributed to the public journals. He published a school-book 
on the use of globes. He soon removed to Washington, where, and at 
Georgetown in the vicinity, he practised as an instructor, lecturer, and 
writer in the newspapers. He obtained a situation in the post-oiEce, 
and died Jan. 30, 1820, a victim of sensibility, and a son of frailties 
and misfortune. 

Lathrop's best poem was the " Speech of Canonicus." In 1813 he 
delivered the first anniversary discourse for the Associate Instructors 
of Youth in Boston; in 1798, an oration for 4th of July, at Dedham ; 
a Masonic address at Charlestown, in 1811, and a Monody on John L. 
Abbot, in 1815. When he graduated at college, in 1789, he delivered 
a poem on the Influence of Civil Institutions on the Social and Moral 
Faculties. Lathrop once closed an ode as follows : 

" Ye sainted spirits of the just, 

Departed friends, we raise our eyes 
From liumbler scenes of mouldering dust, 

To brighter mansions in the skies, — 
Where Faith and Hope, their trials past, 

Shall smile in endless joy secure. 
And Charity's blest reign shall last 

While heaven's eternal courts endure." 



JOHN CALLENDER. 

JULY 4, 1797. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

John Callender Avas born at Boston, Feb. 4, 1772, and son of 
Capt. Eleazar Callender, who married Elizabeth, sister of Gov. Gore, 

22* 



258 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Nov. 23, 1768. He entered the Latin Scliool in 1779, and graduated 
at Harvard College in 1790. His topic at commencement was an ora- 
tion, in French, on the revolution in France. He was an attorney- 
at-law, and married Catharine Templeman, of Georgetown, Md.,- 
Nov. 23, 1794; was lieutenant of the Boston Light Infantry, on its 
institution, in 1798 ; was a representative in the State Legislature, 
secretary of Massachusetts Society of Cincinnati, and clerk of the 
Supreme Judicial Court. lie died in Boston, Nov. 21, 1833. 

In the oration of Mr. Callender it is remarked " that our Revolution 
was so little disgraced by cruelty and injustice, much is due to the exer- 
tions of our clergy; and it is with pride I here oifer my humble tribute 
of applause to that devout and learned profession. The holy precepts 
of our religion Avhich they inculcated, and the bright examples of virtue 
which they exhibited, gave them a great and merited influence with 
the people. To their eternal honor be it recorded, that influence, 
exerted on the side of liberty and humanity, in a great measure 
restrained those wild excesses which have too frequently blasted in the 
execution a cause designed by the noblest motives of the human mind." 



JOSIAH QUINCY. 

JULY 4, 1798. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Our orator remarks, with nervous vigor : " The factious spirits 
whose intrigues have produced such losses and distress to the United 
States, and forced our federated stars from the pathway of peace and 
heaven, are servile copyists of those ancient enemies of colonial inde- 
pendence. They have neither the claim of originals, the merit of 
ingenuity, or the charm of novelty. It is not a mere general resem- 
blance ; it is the old piece in a new position, — the same in character 
and attitude, in expression and passion, in drapery and design. The 
tories and royalists of old time, compared Avith the true friends of Amer- 
ica, were a small and weak party, unable to acquire the confidence of 
the people. Ambition which cannot be gratified by honorable means 
has a sure resource in intrigue. Their invitations stimulated and 
encouraged aggression. They marked out the plan for our enemies. 



JOSIAH QUINCY. 259 

Divide and conquer. Insert your influence amid the parties of the 
State. Corrupt the avaricious, frighten the weak, vihfj virtue, turn 
talents to ridicule, -weaken the obligations of morality, destroy the 
influence of religion, make men worthy to be slaves, and they will sue 
for fetters. How minutely the opponents of the will of the people 
have adhered to these principles in our day, is too obvious to remark. 
We shall find the likeness not less striking, if, keeping our own times 
in view, we call to recollection the arts by which the tories and royal- 
ists formerly played this eternal game of tyranny. To encourage and 
unite the inhabitants of the Old World, they everywhere proclaimed us 
a divided people : that, embarked in a common cause, we refused to 
bear our share of expense ; that, reared under their wing, in our strength, 
we were unmindful of our patrons. In America difierent changes were 
rung. They attempted to set at variance the southern and northern 
colonies ; to make the orders of State contend ; to render the poor sus- 
picious of the rich, — the rich fearful of the poor. They told the people 
of fleets and armies ; of the power of the adversary, and their weak- 
ness. The arms and victories of a nation, then styled terrible to her 
enemies and generous to her friends, were painted in colors best suited 
to alarm. The sin, the crying sin, of ingratitude to a nation who had 
fought our battles, the bones of whose warriors were mingled in the 
same plains with ours, was blazoned in terms designed to make us 
odious and contemptible at home and abroad. Every man of talent 
and virtue was designated as an object of the most atrocious slander. 
Our clergy, — God ever preserve to them the glorious prerogative ! — 
calumniated by the enemies of their country. Our patriots, loaded with 
every insult which abandoned minds could invent : — Otis, the spirited 
and elegant statesman ; Mayhew, the man of wit, learning, and piety ; 
Adams, the equal pride of past and present times." 

Josiah Quincy was the son of Josiah Quincy, Jr., and Abigail Phil- 
lips, who were married October, 1769. The memory of his father 
will be ever dear in the records of patriotism, for his dignified defence 
of the British soldiers, and his manly arguments on the Boston Port 
Bill. Previous to his death, which occurred April 26, 1775, just as 
he reached within sight of Cape Ann, in his beloved country, when on 
his return from a visit to London for his health, Mr. Quincy says, in 
his will, " I give to my son, when he shall arrive to the age of fifteen 
years, Algernon Sidney's works, John Locke's works. Lord Bacon's 
works, Gordon's Tacitus, and Cato's Letters. May the spirit of hberty 



260 THE HENDEED BOSTON ORATORS. 

rest upon him ! " This only son, Josiah, was born at Boston, Feb. 4, 
1772, on the Callender estate, now 166 Washington-street, then Marl- 
boro'-street ; and, by the Old South records, he was baptized Feb. 16, 
1772. It is said that his father was the first Boston lawyer who put 
up a sign-board over his office-door. Many of his nearest connec- 
tions were dispersed by the siege of Boston. His mother had been 
detained in the town by the dangerous illness of both their children. 
His only sister died April 13, 1775. After this event, his mother, Avitli 
her only surviving child, sought the protection of her parents, at their 
place of refuge at Norwich, in Connecticut. Young Josiah was prepared 
for college at Phillips' Academy, in Andover, an institution established 
by a relative in 1778. He graduated at Harvard College in 1790, 
when he gave an English oration on the Ideal Superiority of the Present 
Age in Literature and Politics ; engaged in legal studies under Hon. 
Judge Tudor ; was early admitted to the bar, and married Eliza Susan, 
daughter of John Morton, Esq., merchant and banker, of New York, June, 
1797. He delivered the Phi Beta Kappa oration at Cambridge, in 1794. 
In 1796 Mr. Quincy became a member of the Massachusetts Historical 
Society, and was its treasurer from 1803 to 1820. He was president 
of the Boston Athenseum from 1820 to 1830, and author of its History 
and Biography of its Founders, published in 1851. Mr. Quincy was 
in 1804 elected to the State Senate ; a representative in Congress 
from the year 1805 to 1818, and consequently present at the creation 
of commercial restrictions, embargo, and war. Naturally impetuous 
from his earliest youth, indiscretion often marked his career ; but his 
ingenuous heart always guided him to retract his rashness. He was 
ever fearless, and of fervent eloquence. His speeches are among the 
best specimens of the spirit of the times. His admirable minority 
address in Congress is imperishable. As an indication of the playful 
wit of Mr. Quincy, we find in the diary of his pastor. Rev. Joseph S. 
Buckminster, this record under date September, 1805: ''President 
Nott preached in Brattle-street Church ; the fullest audience ever 
known there, except on ordination-day. Epigram made on by Josiah 
Quincy. 

* Delight and instruction have people, I wot, 
Who in seeing not see, and in hearing hear not.' " 

Mr. Quincy was major of the Boston Hussars, on its institution, in 
1810, and continued its commander until 1816. It was the most 
superb troop of horse ever known in the town. 



JOSIAII QUINCY. 261 

During the discussion in Congress on the war with Great Britain, Mr. 
Quincy suffered himself at times to be so passionately inflamed with 
opposition to the Democratic members, as to forget, in the warm excite- 
ment, the pure feeling of decorum and dignified respect so important 
to their elevated station ; and the poignancy of his grief, after impetu- 
ously pouring out such figures as follow, far overbalanced the moment- 
ary pleasure of hurling around bitter invectives. He described them, 
it is said, as "young politicians, with the pin-feathers yet unshed, and 
the shell sticking upon them, — perfectly unfledged, — though they 
fluttered and cackled upon the floor of Congress ; bloodhound mongrels, 
who were kept in pay to hunt down all that opposed the court ; a pack 
of mangy dogs of recent importation, their backs still sore with the 
stripes of European castigation, and their necks marked with the 
check-collar." At another time he described them as " fawning syc- 
ophants, reptiles who crawled at the feet of the president, and left 
their filthy slime upon the carpet of the palace." 

Henry Clay, then the champion of the Democratic party, repelled 
the rude severity of Josiah Quincy with great effect, remarking of Jef- 
ferson, that "he is not more elevated by his lofty residence upon the 
summit of his own favorite mountain, than he is lifted by the serenity 
of his mind, and the consciousness of a Avell-spent life, above the 
malignant passions and bitter feehngs of the day. No ! his own 
beloved Monticello is not less moved by the storms that beat against 
its sides, than is this illustrious man by the whole British pack, set 
loose from the Essex kennel ! When the gentleman to whom I have 
been compelled to allude shall have mingled his dust with that of his 
abused ancestors, — when he shall have been consigned to oblivion, or, 
if he lives at all, shall live only in the treasonable annals of a certain 
junto, — the name of Jefferson will be hailed with gratitude, his mem- 
ory honored and cherished as the second founder of the liberties of 
the people, and the period of his administration will be looked back to 
as one of the happiest and brightest epochs of American history — an 
oasis in the midst of a sandy desert. But I beg the gentleman's 
pardon ; he has, indeed, secured to himself a more imperishable fame 
than I had supposed. I think it was about four years ago that he 
submitted to the House of Representatives an instructive proposition 
for an impeachment of Mr. Jefferson. The house condescended to 
consider it. The gentleman debated it Avith his usual temper, moder- 
ation, and urbanity. The house decided upon it in the most solemn 



262 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

manner, and, although the gentleman had somewhere obtained a 
second, the final vote stood, one for, and one hundred and seventeen 
against, the proposition ! The same historic page that transmitted to 
posterity the virtue and the glory of Henry the Great, of France, for 
their admiration and example, has preserved the infamous name of the 
frantic assassin of that excellent monarch ! " 

In the speech of ]\Ir. Quincy on the proposal to revive and enforce 
the non-intercourse law against Great Britain, wherein he argues that 
it is not fiscal, nor protective of manufactures, nor competent to coerce, 
nor the product of any prospective intelligence, but the result of 
chaotic opinions, he remarked that ''they who introduced it abjured 
it. They who advocated it did not wish, and scarcely knew, its use. 
And now that it is said to be extended over us, no man in this nation, 
who values his reputation, will take his Bible oath that it is in effectual 
and legal operation. There is an old riddle, on a coffin," said Mr, 
Quincy, "which I presume we all learnt when we were boys, that is 
as perfect a representation of the origin, progress, and present state of 
this thing called non-intercourse, as is possible to be conceived : 

' There was a man bespoke a thing. 
Which, "when the maker home did bring, 
That same maker did refuse it, — 
The man that spoke for it did not use it, — 
And he who had it did not linow 
Whether he had it, yea or no.' 

True it is, that if this non-intercourse shall ever be, in reality, sub- 
tended over us, the similitude will fail, in a material point. The poor 
tenant of the coffin is ignorant of his state. But the poor people of 
the United States will be Hterally buried alive in non-intercourse, and 
realize the grave closing on themselves and their hopes, with a full 
and cruel consciousness of all the horrors of their condition." 
Our rustic bard, Dinsmore, says : 

" Non-intercourse ! the thing is hollow, — 
A measure causeless, vague, and shallow ! 
The heads who formed it sure were mellow ! ' ' 

^Ye find the following bold figure in iSIr. Quincy's speech on the 
necessity of repealing the embargo law: "An embargo liberty waa 
never cradled in Massachusetts. Our liberty was not so much a 



JOSIAH QUIXCY. 26S 

mountain, as a sea-nymph. She was free as air. She could SAnm, 
or she could run. The ocean "was her cradle. Our fathers met her 
as she came, like the goddess of beauty, from the waves. They 
caught her as she was sporting on the beach. They courted her 
whilst she was spreading her nets upon the rocks. But an embargo 
hberty, a handcuffed liberty, a liberty in fetters, a liberty traversing 
between the four sides of a prison, and beating her head against the 
walls, is none of our offspring. "We abjure the monster. Its parent- 
age is all inland." 

When the exciting question of the admission of Louisiana into the 
Union was agitated, Mr. Quincy used strong language against it, 
remarking, '■ I am compelled to declare it as my deliberate opinion, 
that, if this bill passes, the bonds of this Union are virtually dissolved ; 
that the States which compose it are free from their moral obligations, 
and that, as it will be the right of all, so it will be the duty of some, 
to prepare definitely for a separation, — amicably if they can. violently 
if they must.'' Language like this excited the severe rebuke of Mr. 
Poindexter, of Mississippi, who said : '■ Lilluenced by a desire to stamp 
on these expressions their merited disgrace, and to preserve dignity and 
decorum in our deliberations, I feel it my duty to call the gentleman 
to order. These sacred walls ought not to be polluted by direct invi- 
tations to rebellion." Li allusion to Aaron Burr, j\Ir. Poindexter 
said, that, had he used such expressions, " instead of exile, he would 
have been consigned to a gibbet ; and his fate ought to be a warning 
against treasonable machinations." Mr. Quincy promptly replied to 
Mr. Poindexter, that, on the adoption of the constitution, it was agreed, 
in the treaty-making power, that old States within the ancient limits 
could not be sold from us : " and I maintain," said he, "that by it 
new States, 'without the ancient limits, cannot be saddled upon us. It 
was agreed at that time that the treaty-making power could not cut off 
a limb. And I maintain that neither has it the competency to clap a 
hump upon our shoulders." In relation to the moral and political con- 
sequences of usurping this power, said Mr, Quincy, " I have said that 
it would be a virtual dissolution of the Union ; and gentlemen express 
great sensibility at the expression. But the true soui'ce of terror is 
not the declaration I have made, but the deed you propose. With 
respect to this love of our Union, I have no fear about analyzing its 
nature. There is in it nothing of mystery. It depends upon the 
qualities of that Union, and it results from its effects upon our and our 



264 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

country's happiness. It is valuable for 'that sober certainty of 
waking bliss ' which it enables us to realize. It grows out of the 
affections, and has not, and cannot be made to have, anything universal 
in its nature. Sir, I confess it, the first public love of my heart is 
the commonwealth of INIassachusetts. There is my fireside, there are 
the tombs of my ancestors : 

' Low lies that land, yet blest with fruitful stores ; 
Sti-ong are her sons, though rocky are her shores ; 
And none, ah ! none so lovely to mj sight, 
Of all the lands which heaven o'erspreads with light.' 

The love of the Union grows out of this attachment to my native soil, 
and is rooted in it. I cherish it because it affords the best external 
hope of her peace. I oppose this bill from no animosity to the people 
of New Orleans, but from the deep conviction that it contains a prin- 
ciple incompatible with the liberties and safety of my country. I have 
no concealment of my opinion. The bill, if it passes, is a death-blow 
to the constitution. It may afterwards linger, but, Hngering, its fate 
will at no very distant period be consummated." 

The speech of Josiah Quincy in Congress, January 1, 1811, on the 
influence of place and patronage, was one of his most successful efforts ; 
and John Quincy Adams exclaimed, after its delivery, " It ought to be 
hung up in every office of every office-holder in the Union." We will 
cite two passages from this effective, patriotic speech : 

"Is there on this earth any collection of men, in which exists a 
more intrinsic, hearty, and desperate love of office or place, particularly 
of fat places '? Is there any country more infested than this with the 
vermin that breed in the corruptions of power ? Is there any in which 
place and official emolument more certainly follow distinguished ser- 
vihty at elections, or base scurrihty in the press ? And as to eager- 
ness for the reward, what is the fact 7 Let, now, one of your great 
office-holders — a collector of the customs, a marshal, a commissioner 
of loans, a post-master in one of your cities, or any officer, agent, or 
factor, for your territories, or public lands, or person holding a place 
of minor distinction, but of considerable profit — be called upon to pay 
the last great debt of nature. The poor man shall hardly be dead, — 
he shall not be cold, — long before the corpse is in the coffin, the mail 
slmll be crowded to repletion with letters, certificates, recommendations 
and representations, and every species of sturdy, sycophantic solicita- 



JOSIAH QUINCY. 265 

tion, by which obtrusive mendicity seeks charity or invites compassion. 
Why, sir, we hear the clamor of the craving animals at the treasury- 
trough here in this capitol. Such running, such jostling, such wrig- 
gling, such clambering over one another's backs, such squealing, 
because the tub is so narrow and the company so crowded ! No, sir ; 
let us not talk of stoical apathy towards the things of the national 
treasury, either in this people, or in the representatives, or senators." 

Mr. Quincy, in this speech, uttered a prediction which should be 
revived previous to every presidential election. " Without meaning, 
in this place," says he, " to cast any particular reflections upon this, 
or upon any other executive, this I will say, that if no additional 
guards arc provided, and now, after the spirit of party has brought 
into so full activity the spirit of patronage, there never will be a pres- 
ident of these United States, elected by means now in use, who, if he 
deals honestly with himself, will not be able, on quitting, to address 
his presidential chair as John FalstaiT addressed Prince Hal : ' Before I 
knew thee I knew nothing, and now I am but little better than one of 
the wicked.' The possession of that station, under the reign of party, 
will make a man so acquainted with the corrupt principles of human 
conduct, — he will behold our nature in so hungry and shivering and 
craving a state, and be compelled so constantly to observe the solid 
rewards daily demanded by way of compensation for outrageous patri- 
otism, — that, if he escape out of that atmosphere without partaking 
of its corruption, he must be below or above the ordinary condition 
of mortal nature. Is it possible, sir, that he should remain altogether 
uninfected? " 

Mr. Quincy was an ardent opponent of the embargo, and the war 
with Great Britain ; and, in his oration for the Washington Benevolent 
Society, April 30, 1813, — an institution consisting of the Federal 
party, — he impugns the motives of our national rulers. " The prin- 
ciple of Washington, which lay at the foundation of his glory," says 
Quincy, " and was the basis of the blessing of his day, was to introduce 
virtue and talent into the conduct of public aSlxirs. The principle of 
our present rulers is to introduce tools and instruments. With these 
men, the great requisite is pohtical subserviency. This single feature is, 
alone, suiScient to account for the whole difference of our political con- 
dition. For the particular in which that difference consists is, in fact, 
the corner-stone of the repubhcan system of government. The theory 
of which rests upon this basis, that, in its result, the virtue and talents 
23 



266 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of a country shall preside over its destinies. Whenever this fail, and 
attachment to a party, or fidelity to a chief, or subserviency to a 
cabal. — whenever, as Avas distinctly avowed in the outset of the power 
of these men, other considerations than ' honesty, capacity, and fidehty 
to the constitution,' become the criterions of office and appointment, — 
the moral basis of the republic is gone. Its form may, indeed, remain ; 
but its vital spirit has fled. The stream of corruption, when once it 
begins to flow, in a free country, never retreats to its fountain, nor 
does the spring which feeds it ever become dry. At first, it winds its 
way in secrecy and silence, attracting to its current only what is light 
and hollow, and rotten and feculent ; but soon, gathering boldness in 
its course, it advances with an irresistible torrent, and sweeps away 
every honor of the field, and every mound of safety. 

" Whenever the rulers of a nation become the mere heads of a party, 
the last and least consideration with them is the good of the people. 
How to secure their power, — how to manage the elections, — who is 
the fittest tool, — who will run the fastest, go the farthest, and hold out 
the longest for the least wages of corruption, — are the only inquiries. 
To give muscle and durabihty to their influence is the single end of 
their pohtical system. For this, British antipathies are stimulated. 
For this, British injuries are magnified. For this, French affections 
are cultivated, and French insults and injuries palliated or concealed. 
For this, we had restriction. For this, embargo. For this, we have 
war. For this, war shall be continued. And if peace come, for this 
peace shall be concluded. For unprincipled ambition, in power, effects 
not even public good, except from corrupt motives." 

Mr. Quincy was elected to the State Senate, June, 1813, when a 
proposition was made for the adoption of resolutions expressive of their 
sense of the gallantry and good conduct of Capt. James Lawrence, of 
the U. S. sloop-of-war Hornet, and the officers and crew of that ship, 
in the destruction of the British ship-of-war Peacock, the preamble 
and resolve of which were proposed by Hon. Josiah Quincy. As this 
resolve is a political curiosity, expressive of the sentiment of the Legis- 
lature, and the decided opposition of the author to the existing war, we 
will quote the document almost entire : 

^^ Whereas, It has been found that former resolutions of this kind, 
passed on similar occasions, relative to other officers engaged in similar 
service, have given great discontent to many of the good people of this 
commonwealth, it being considered by them as an encouragement and 



JOSIAH QUINCY. 267 

excitement to tlie countenance of the present unjust, unnecessary, and 
iniquitous war ; and, on this account, the Senate of Massachusetts have 
deemed it their duty to refrain from acting on the said proposition. 
And whereas, this determination of the Senate may, without explana- 
tion, be misconstrued into an intentional slight of Capt. Lawrence, and 
a denial of his particular merits, the Senate therefore deem it their 
duty to declare that they have a high sense of the naval skill and mil- 
itary and civil virtues of Capt. James Lawrence ; and they have been 
withheld from acting on said proposition solely from considerations 
relative to the nature and principle of the present war : and, to the end 
that all misapprehension on this subject may be obviated. Resolved, 
as the sense of the Senate of Massachusetts, that, in a war like the 
present, waged Avithout justifiable cause, and prosecuted in a manner 
which indicates that conquest and ambition are its real motives, it is not 
becoming a moral and religious people to express any approbation of 
military or naval exploits which are not immediately connected with 
the defence of our sea-coast and soil." On Feb. 10, 1814, Mr. Holmes 
moved that this resolution be erased from the journal of the Senate ; 
on which it was decided in the negative, by twenty-one nays to eight 
yeas. In the administration of Gov. Eustis, on the motion of Hon. 
Seth Sprague, Jan. 23, 1824, it was voted that the preamble and reso- 
lution be expunged, as it was predicated upon an erroneous estimate 
of the nature and character of the late war, and involves and asserts 
principles unsound in policy, and dangerous and alarming in tendency. 
It is related in Russell's Centinel, that on Jan. 26, 1814, after a 
speech from Hon. John Holmes, warmly advocating the war with Great 
Britain, which closed at seven o'clock in the evening, the Hon. Mr. 
Quincy rose and entered on a full exposition of the measures of Mas- 
sachusetts on the subject ; but, after having spoken about forty min- 
utes, in a room crowded to overflowing, and in a hot and close air. he 
found his strength fail him, and, fainting, he fell in his chair. The 
Senate immediately voted to adjourn ; the windows were thrown open, 
and in a short time he was recovered. The Chronicle relates of this 
incident that Mr. Quincy drank " two tumblers of cold water in about 
thirty minutes, to extinguish the volcano within his bosom : and yet, 
with all this salutary cooling application, he was so far burnt up with 
ardent passion, that he cried out, ' I am gone,' and fell immediately back- 
wards into his chair. But if this was a faint attempt to imitate the Earl 
of Chatham, it was a poor description of that subhme scene. The Earl 



268 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of Chatham reallj expired ; but Josiah Quincy, on the next day, was 
more alert than ever." And Forsyth, of Georgia, said on the floor of 
Congress, in allusion to this incident, ascribed to severe illness, that he 
who cowers under the ftilcon eye of an indignant adversary Avill not 
court the fiery glance of angry steel. 

This war with Great Britain prompted the philanthropic Noah 
Worcester to originate the Massachusetts Peace Society, in 1815, and 
Mr. Quincy was one of its earliest members. In 1820 Mr. Quincy deliv- 
ered an address for the society, in which he said that war establish- 
ments are everywhere scions of despotism, which, when engrafted on 
republics, always begin by determining the best sap to their own 
branch, and never fail to finish by withering every branch excepting 
their own. Peace societies are the moral armories destined to break in 
pieces the sword, the spear and the battle-axe, in like manner as the 
rays of light and of truth, concentrated by the magic mirror of Cer- 
vantes, melted into air and dissipated the dwarfs, the knights, the 
giants, the enchanters and battlements, of ancient chivalry. 

Mr. Quincy continued a member of the Senate until 1821, and in 
the two successive years he was elected to the house, on the last of 
which he was chosen speaker. He was a delegate to the convention of 
1820, on revising the State constitution. In 1822 he was appointed 
judge of the Municipal Court, which he resigned on his election to the 
mayoralty of Boston, on the decease of Hon. John Phillips, the first 
incumbent of that station. 

At one of the pohtical meetings subsequent to the contest between 
Mr. Otis and his quondam friend and rival, Josiah Quincy, who was 
viewed as the most efficient man to effect the great projects in founding 
the city, the latter took occasion to account for his success over his 
brilliant competitor, on the decease of Phillips, by remarking that the 
result was, after all, an indirect compliment to the superior genius of 
Mr. Otis, inasmuch as it demonstrated the conviction, on the part of 
their mutual constituents, that to degrade Mr. Otis by such a compar- 
atively subordinate office would be like making a common drag-chain 
of a diamond necklace. 

Mayor Quincy was a more vigorous and energetic director of the 
municipal interests of his native city than any of his successors, and 
effected most for its advancement and elegance. The establishment of 
the House of Industry, the House of Reformation for Juvenile Offend- 
ers, the new avenue to the north part of the city by Commercial- 



JOSIAH QUINCT. 269 

street, and the Quincy Market-liouse, standing between two very 
broad streets, are alone monuments of his taste and enterprise. He 
transformed, as it were by enchantment, the antiquated town of Boston 
into the most elegant city of the United States. At daylight, Mayor 
Quincy mounted his horse, and traversed the streets and lanes of the 
city, reforming abuses, devising improvements, and performing the 
duties of a vigilant police-officer. He was founder of the noble fire 
department, in 1827. Our city exhibits traces of his efficiency never 
to be obliterated. 

We cannot resist here introducing an effective allusion to the Quincy 
Market-house. At the annual festival for the public schools of Bos- 
ton, in Faneuil Hall, August 1826, and on the completion of the 
granite market-house, the Hon. Judge Story, being present, volunteered 
the sentiment herewith : " May the fame of our honored mayor prove 
as durable as the material of which the beautiful market-house is con- 
structed." On which, quick as light. Mayor Quincy responded as fol- 
lows : " That stupendous monument of the wisdom of our forefathers, 
the Supreme Court of the United States : In the event of a vacancy, 
may it be raised one Story higher; " which was received with raptur- 
ous applause. At the public dinner of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, 
after the institution of the Story Association, Mr. Quincy gave this 
sentiment : " The Members of the Bar : Let them rise as high as they 
may, they can never rise higher than one Story." We will relate an 
incident to illustrate the opinion of Mr. Otis, his successor, in regard to 
his character for energy of action. On the occasion when Mayor Otis 
was inspecting the excavation of earth, "where the gravestone of Wil- 
liam Paddy and human bones were discovered," Mr. Quincy, who was 
present, remarked to Mr. Otis that, in the whole of his administration, 
he had never been accused of disturbing the bones of his ancestors. 
On this, Mr. Otis archly replied, "Why, Mr. Quincy, I always sup- 
posed you never made any bones of doing anything." 

During the early period of the mayoralty of Mr. Quincy, in conse- 
quence of the destructive fire in Central and Kilby streets, which 
occurred April 8, 1825, when fifty warehouses of our merchants were 
destroyed, it was resolved by the city authorities, on the 12th of that 
date, to effect the construction of reservoirs for protection from fire ; 
and, on the second of May following, a joint committee on this subject, 
of which Mayor Quincy was chairman, recommended also the estab- 
lishment of a new fire department, which was organized June 18th of 
23* 



270 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

that year. On tliis committee was John Parker Rice, Esq., a native 
of Princeton, Mass., a resident of Boston since 1818, and a member 
of the Common Council from ward No. 10, who proposed to the com- 
mittee the consideration of the subject of obtaining a supply of pure, 
soft water, for domestic purposes, as well as for security against fire, at 
the expense and under the control of the city. Mr. Quincy promptly 
expressed the opinion that the Mayor and Aldermen could not bring the 
subject before the public, if they wished to retain their official stations, 
or their due influence. "But," he added, "if you gentlemen of the 
Common Council will take the responsibility of bringing forward the 
subject, it shall receive due attention." On the 16th of May, Mr. 
Rice introduced the following order to the notice of the Council, which 
was accepted : " Ordered, that the committee on the subject of protect- 
ing the city against fire be instructed to inquire into the practicability, 
expense and expediency, of supplying the city with good, wholesome, 
soft water, both for the general use of the inhabitants, and for the pur- 
pose of extinguishing fire." It is not named on the original record 
who presented this order ; but the Boston Daily Advertiser of that date 
states that it was adopted on the motion of John P. Rice, who confirms 
the fact also himself, and further states that the report of the commit- 
tee on the subject of protecting the city against fire was made and 
accepted at this meeting ; and their duties having thus been brought 
to a close, a new committee was appointed on the subject of introducing 
water, and the order was made to conform accordingly. Moreover, it was 
the opinion of Mr. Rice that Spot Pond was a source that co^ild be ren- 
dered and kept more pure, under the control of the city authorities, 
than any other source. At a meeting of the Council, on June 9th fol- 
lowing, it was resolved, on the report of tliis committee on the subject, 
that "the Mayor and Aldermen be empowered to cause a survey of 
suitable points for this object." In the mean time, Mr. Quincy had 
decided to forward the enterprise; and Mr. Daniel Treadwell was 
appointed to make a survey, who reported to the city Council, Nov. 
14, 1825, his opinion in favor of Spot Pond, in Stoneham. Mr. Quincy 
decidedly advocated the project in liis inaugural address, Jan. 2, 182G, 
arguing the necessity of " a sufficient and never- failing supply for our 
city of pure river or pond water, which shall be adequate for all pur- 
poses of protection against fire, and for all culinary and other domestic 
purposes, and capable of being introduced into every house in the city. 
I deem it my duty to state, unequivocally, that the object ought never 



JOSIAH QUINCY. 271 

to bo lost sight of by tbe city Council, until effected upon a scale pro- 
portionate to its convenience and our urgent necessities. If there be 
any privilege which a city ought to reserve exclusively in its own hands, 
and under its own control, it is that of supplying itself with water." 
During a period of twenty years this vastly important enterprise was 
a subject of warm controversy, until the breaking up of the earth, by 
the hands of John Quincy Adams and Josiah Quincy, Jr., on the 
embankments of Lake Cochituate, Aug. 20, 1846. 

Mr. Quincy was succeeded by Mr. Otis to the mayoralty of his 
native city, in the year 1829 ; and President Kirkland having resigned 
his station as the head of Harvard University in the year previous, 
Mr. Quincy was elected by the corporation to the presidency, Jan. 
15, 1829. The intellectual capacities, energetic manners, and espec- 
ially the financial penetration, of Mr. Quincy, induced such men as 
Bowditch, Story and Jackson, to single him as the individual peculiarly 
qualified to improve the fiscal concerns and control the insubordinate 
spirit of the students. The inauguration occurred June 2, 1829 ; and, 
after the seal of the university and other badges of ofiice were extended 
to the president elect, by Gov. Lincoln, Mr. Quincy responded in Latin, 
when he made a happy allusion to the fact of his being unexpectedly 
called, from the dust and clamor of the capital, to preside over our great 
literary institution, which elicited a prompt expression of applause from 
the audience. The president then took his seat in the pulpit, and 
assumed the academic cap, on which occasion the old house rang again 
with applause. He delivered an inaugural discourse on the occasion, in 
which he urged the expediency of concentrating public patronage to 
one great university, in preference to wasting away the resources of the 
State upon small institutions, where its benefits would not be generally 
felt. An apt volunteer sentiment for this university was given at the 
dinner, which was — " May it unite the beauty, strength and dura- 
bility, of Quincy granite." The same decision of character, so 
strongly marked in his city administration, forthwith operated to the 
benefit of this ancient seat of learning, Avhich, from being heavily encum- 
bered with debt, emerged into the light of pecuniary independence ; 
and he has done more to improve and beautify the premises of venera- 
ble Harvard than any of his predecessors. He once said of the uni- 
versity, "May it, like the royal mail packets, distribute good letters 
over our land." 

We cannot forbear introducing an incident illustrative of Mr. Quin- 



272 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

cj's happy presence of mind. We find it in a letter of William Wirt, 
addressed to William Pope, Aug. 29, 1829, in which he relates of 
President Quincy : " He happened, when I made him a visit, to ask 
me in Avhat college I had graduated. I was obliged to admit that I 
had never been a student at any college. A shade of embarrassment, 
scarcely perceptible, just flitted across his countenance ; but he recov- 
ered in an instant, and added, most gracefully, " Upon my word, you 
furnish a very strong argument against the utility of a college educa- 
tion." 

Mr. Quincy had but just entered on his new sphere of usefulness, 
when he was called to prepare an address on the celebration of the close 
of the second century from the settlement of his native city, in the last 
sentence of wliich he says : "In all times to come, as in all times past, 
may Boston be among the foremost and the boldest to exemplify and 
uphold whatever constitutes the prosperity, the happiness, and the glory, 
of New England." At the festival in Faneuil Hall, Sept. 17, 1830, on 
this occasion, the following sentiment was advanced by William Hayden: 
" The Peninsula of Shawmut : Bought by Edmund Quincy, for the 
benefit of our ancestors. The City of Boston : Improved and embel- 
hshed by Josiah Quincy, for our benefit." 

At the centennial celebration of Harvard College, September, 1836, 
the Rev. Dr. Palfrey read a passage from the will of the father of 
President Quincy, by which he bequeathed two thousand pounds 
sterling to the college, in case his son should die a minor. After com- 
puting the relative value of money at the date of the will, and its value 
at the present day. Dr. Palfrey estimated the conditional bequest to be 
equal to ten thousand dollars, and forthwith proposed this toast : "Har- 
vard College : A strangely fortunate yet disappointed legatee, who, in 
losing ten thousand dollars, gained a president." On this occasion, 
Edward Everett, in allusion to a remark of President Quincy, 
announced the sentiment, that "his fame shall not be left to a dog- 
gerel dirge and a Latin epitaph ; we pronounce him, while he fives, in 
our mother tongue, the ornament of the forum, the senate, and the 
academy." 

President Quincy was remarkable for ready wit on public festive 
occasions, one of the finest specimens of which appears in his speech 
at the dinner to Charles Dickens, the famous author of the Pickwick 
Club, at the Papantis Hall, in Boston, Feb. 2, 1842. When Judge 
Loring introduced a happy compliment to Mr. Quincy, in an allusion 



JOSIAH QUINCY. 273 

to Harvard College at the close of an effective speech,— that there is 
one lesson of hers that we have learned by heart, and would repeat 
now when we meet her at our own festival; it is, "To give honor to 
those who in their high office do honor to her,"— President Quincy, 
amid enthusiastic greetings, immediately replied : " It isn't quite fiiir, 
gentlemen ; it is n't quite fair. When I received your invitation, I had 
great doubts on the subject of accepting it ; for I saw very plainly that 
if I did, by some hook or crook, I should be set up for a speech ; and I 
felt like giving myself the same advice that Swift gave to the man. 
Said the man, 'I have set up for a wit.' 'Well,' replied Swift, 'I 
would now advise you to sit down.' But I thought that I had laid an 
anchor to the windward ; that I was not to be assailed by toast or 
sentiment, and that no machinery of any kind would be set to work 
here to rasp speeches out of dry and reluctant natures. But, gentle- 
men, I belong to a past age, and you should no more expect a man of 
three-score and ten to make an after-dinner speech than to dance a 
hornpipe. Nature is against you ; for, to make a good after-dinner 
speech, many things are required which an old man has not. Such a 
speech should be witty as well as wise ; and, with an abundance of 
imagination, it should have a sprinkling of salt — the pure Attic. It 
should be strewn with roses, such as are grown on the sides of Parnas- 
sus. There should be alternate layers of the titile and the didce, and 
on the top of all these should be a layer of sugared sentiment. GeJi- 
tlemen, it is impossible that an old man can compound anything like 
this, for he is deficient in the two great requisites, memory and fancy. 
To an old man, memory is an arrant jade, and she is no way delicate 
in letting him know that, like the rest of her sex, she gives young men 
the preference. An old man's fancy will neither run nor walk ; and 
still less can it fly, for there is not a pin-feather in its wings. Besides, 
gentlemen, it is a universal rule, that when a son has set up for himself 
in the world, and is doing a pretty good business, it is time for the 
father to retire, lest his presence may give rise to unpleasant compari- 
sons. For to say that the young man beats the old man, would be 
cruel ; and to say, as in this case I fear it cannot be said, the old man 
beats the young man, would be anything but complimentary." After 
a round of witty remarks. President Quincy said, " I will detain you 
no longer, but conclude by giving you a toast, if my treacherous mem- 
ory will so far serve me. I will give you. Genius — in ' ' Here, 

however, the venerable president's memory did desert him ; and, after 



274 TUE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

a brief interval spent in vain attempts to summon her to his aid, he 
looked pleasantly round, and said: "Gentlemen, a good memory is a 
great thing, and I will give you all a piece of advice, which it may be 
useful to you to remember : -when you arc not certain that you can 
keep a thing in your memory, be sure to keep it in your pocket." He 
then, enforcing his precept by example, drew from his own pocket a 
scrap of paper, and read : "Genius, in its legitimate use, uniting wit 
with purity ; instructing the high in their duties to the low ; and, by 
improving the morals, elevating the social condition of man." During 
the delivery of his speech, Mr. Quincy was frequently interrupted with 
bursts of applause and hearty peals of laughter ; and the happy sally 
with which he got over his concluding diflGculty set the company in a 
roar, which continued until the president of the company, Josiah 
Quincy, Jr., arose and said that as the president of Harvard Univer- 
sity had introduced to them Samuel Weller, he would take the liberty 
to read to them one of the sayings of that distinguished personage : 

"If ever I wanted anything of my father," said Sam, "I always 
asked for it in a werry 'spectful and obliging manner. If he did n't give 
it me, I took it, for fear I should be led to do anything wrong, through 
not having it." President Quincy had felt an intense desire to know 
whether the present company was to be composed of any but young 
men, and said, by Avay of illustration : "I felt, in regard to the com- 
position of this meeting, much as Sam Weller did. You have all heard 
of Sam Weller. gentlemen, when he was invited to dine upon veal-pie : 
' A weal-pie is a worry nice thing — werry nice ; but I should like to 
know beforehand how it is composed, and whether there is anything 
there besides kittens J " This was the point to which the president of 
the meeting alluded. 

Amid the arduous duties necessarily involved in the administration 
of the university, Mr. Quincy prepared an extensive history of this 
ancient seat of learning, in two volumes, published in the year 1840, 
with engravings. This work, though deeply lined with personal and 
sectarian prejudice, exhibits profound research, and furnishes valuable 
materials for a candid and impartial history. It should be specially 
noticed that Quincy lashes the Mathers with a caustic severity unwor- 
thy of this golden age of toleration. Moreover, is there not a shade 
of injustice to the memory of our time-honored Hancock? The 
memoir of Josiah Quincy, Jr., by his son, one of the most valuable 
works of the sort, representing his revered image in the best expres- 



JOSIAH QUINCY. 275 

sions, sljould be printed in a popular form. His History of the Boston 
Athenaeum, with the Biography of its Founders, is another production 
of his last days, evincing the research of an antiquarian, and the pol- 
ish of a scholar. He prepared also the Memoirs of INIaj. Samuel Shaw, 
and the Memoir of James Grahame, productions of historical value. 

President Quincy, on the inauguration of Edward Everett as suc- 
cessor to the presidency of Harvard University, April 30, 1846. in 
expressing his grateful sense to the corporation and the faculty, for 
their friendly concurrence in his measures, remarked, they had received 
him covered with the dust from the streets of Boston, in which he had 
been sent to work, as if it had been gathered on the top of Hel- 
icon, or in the walks of Plato's academy. He stated that seventeen 
years ago he proposed Mr. Everett for the presidency, to the eminent 
Bowditch, who replied, " That may do in twenty years hence, but it will 
not do now." "Why not?" said Quincy. "The eagle must have 
its flight," said Bowditch. And so Mr. Quincy was called to the sta- 
tion, who was as much surprised by it, to use his own words, "as if 
he had received a call to the pastoral charge of the Old South Church," 
where he was baptized. 

The greatest acliievement probably ever effected by jNIr. Quincy con- 
sists of the concise History of Boston from its first settlement, in 
1630, and more especially from its incorporation as a city, — a labor 
which has absorbed many of the best days of his life, during a period 
of nearly twenty years. This valuable legacy to his native city can 
only be measured in importance by the inconceivable advantages he 
secured to its citizens during his administration over its destinies. Wc 
know not tli-e man whose decision and perseverance could ha.ve conceived 
and completed such a noble memorial for posterity as our own Josiah 
Quincy. We know not the writer, in the length and breadth of this 
city, who has nerved himself to more intense mental labor than the 
venerated Josiah Quincy. In his address, or rather eloquent appeal, 
on taking final leave of the mayoralty, on Jan. 3, 1829, Mr. Quincy 
implied his intention to prepare a history of the city; when he remarked 
that it was his purpose in another way and in a more permanent form 
to do justice to those who had favored his most important measures. 
This farewell exhibit of his six years' administration was prepared as a 
shield to ward off the calumnies of partisans who wished him to retire 
from his station. " The public officer," said Mr. Quincy, " who, from 
a sense of public duty, dares to cross strong interests in their way to 



276 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

gratification at the public expense, always has had, and ever will have, 
meted to him the same measure. The beaten course is first to slander 
in order to intimidate ; and if that fail, to slander in order to sacrifice. 
He who loves his office better than his duty will yield, and be flattered 
as long as he is a tool. He who loves his duty better than his office 
will stand erect, and take his fate." Mr. Quincy had been absorbed in 
a laborious fulfilment of every known duty, a prudent exercise of every 
invested power, a disposition shrinking from no official responsibility, 
and an absolute self-devotion to the interest of the city. This is an 
eloquent defence, comprising thirty-two pages of argument, exhibiting 
the fact that he retired from the mayoralty when the real estate owned 
by the city exceeded more than seven hundred thousand dollars, and 
the debt of the city was six hundred and thirty-seven thousand dollars ; 
the income and interest of their real estate, including bonds and mort- 
gages, amounting to fifty-two thousand dollars, while the annual inter- 
est of the debt was only forty-seven thousand dollars. Mayor Quincy 
further exhibits what he had effected for the public health, the popular 
education, and advance in the public morals. 

The last political communication of Josiah Quincy to the people of 
his native city, with the exception of his successful remonstrance to 
proposed alterations of the city charter, was presented at a meeting 
in Faneuil Hall, October 14, 1850, on the expediency of the fugitive- 
slave law, occasioned by the invitation of citizens without distinction 
of party, at the head of which was his own name. Mr. Quincy 
expressed a hope, in his letter to the meeting, that this assembly would 
not partake of a party or pohtical character, as he had been assured 
that it was the intention of those interested in this invitation that it 
should not be a party movement. The meeting was, however, con- 
ducted by advocates of the free-soil or abolition project. The Hon. 
Charles Francis Adams was appointed the moderator: and it was 
at this meeting that the proposed resolve of Rev. Nathaniel Colver 
was adopted, declaring, emphatically, " Constitution or no constitution, 
law or no law, we will not allow a fugitive slave to be taken from 
Massachusetts." It was in allusion to the policy of this party, that 
Daniel Webster advanced the bold comparison herewith, in his famous 
speech at Albany. " It was in Cromwell's time," remarks he, " there 
sprung up a race of saints, who called themselves Fifth Monarchy 
Men. A happy, felicitous, glorious people they were; for they had 
practised so many virtues, they were so enlightened, so perfect, that 



JOSIAH QUINCT. 277 

they got to be, in the language of that day, above ordinances. That 
is the hio^her law of this day, exactly. It is the old doctrine of the 
Fifth Monarchy Men of Cromwell's time revived. They were above 
ordinances, — walked about like the man in the play, prim and spruce, 
self-satisfied, thankful to God that they were not as other men, but 
had attained so far to salvation as to be above ordinances." We are 
of opinion that this figure is not too broad to cover the shoulders of 
many enthusiasts of the free-soil party ; at the same time, it is our 
decided belief, that Josiah Quincy, Charles Sumner, and the almost 
entire majority of advocates for emancipation, would repudiate such a 
doctrine. Indeed, we know that our country never had a more devoted 
advocate of the constitution and the laws than Josiah Quincy. 

Mr. Quincy's letter, dated Quincy, Oct. 14, 1850, contains an inter- 
esting political reminiscence in his own career, which we will quote : 

" I can speak of this subject with a somewhat personal certainty, so 
far as respects the existence of the feeling prevalent on this subject 
fifty-six years ago. Sometime about the year 1794, soon after the 
first law on this subject was passed, I was sent for, as a counsellor-at- 
law, to appear before one of our acting justices of the peace, — Green- 
leaf, — to defend a person then on trial, under the charge of being a 
slave, on the claim of his master for delivery to him. On appearing 
before the justice, I found the room filled with a crowd of persons, not 
one of whom I knew, but who were attending the court apparently 
from interest or curiosity. Among them were the constables, and the 
agent of the master ; but who the other persons were, or what was 
the object of their assembling, I was ignorant. I entered, of course, 
on my duties as an advocate ; called for the evidence of the agent's 
authority, and denied the authority of the law of Congress, and of the 
magistrate under it, to deliver an inhabitant of Massachusetts into the 
custody of another, unless after trial by jury, according to the consti- 
tution of the State. While occupied with my argument, I was 
suddenly interrupted by a loud noise behind me ; and, on turning 
round, I found, to my astonishment, both the constable and the agent 
on the floor, and the alleged slave passing out of the room between the 
files of bystanders, which were opened to the right and left for his 



"About a fortnight elapsed, when I was called upon by Rufus 
Greene Amory, a lawyer of eminence at the Boston bar in that day, 
who showed me a letter from a southern slave-holder, directing him to 

24 



278 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

prosecute Josiah Quincj for the penalty under the law of 1793, for 
obstructing the agent of the claimant in obtaining his slave under the 
process established by that law. 

"Mr. Amory felt, not less than myself, the folly of such a pre- 
tence ; and I never heard from liim, or from any one, anything more 
upon the subject of prosecution. This fact, and the universal gratifi- 
cation which the result appeared to give to the public, satisfied my 
mind, that, unless by accident, or stealth, or in some very thin-settled 
parts of the country, the law of 1793 would forever be inoperative, as 
the event has proved, in Massachusetts. And the same will, in my 
opinion, be the case, as I have already said, with the law of 1850." 

President Quincy, having represented Suffolk ejght years in the 
national Congress, his native city in the State Legislature eight years, 
the mayoralty for a period of six years, and the presidency of Harvard 
University during sixteen years, has retired to his residence on the 
location of Beacon Hill, now levelled and overspread by elegant dwell- 
ings and the granite Cochituate reservoir ; the spot from the summit 
of which was a striking view of Bunker Hill, thus famed by Mrs. 
Morton : 

" Witness yon tract, where first the Briton bled ! 
Driven by our youth, redoubted Percy tied. 
There Breed ascends, and Bunlier's bleeding steeps, 
Still o'er whose brow abortive victory weeps." 



JOHN LOWELL. 

JULY 4, 1799. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

"A FREE government," says our orator, "is the very hot-bed of 
ambition. Ambition is an indigenous plant in democracies, which pro- 
duces and scatters its seeds like the balsamine, and propagates with 
indescribable rapidity. In such governments, therefore, there is 
always a plentiful crop of candidates for promotion, — of proud and 
haughty claimants, as well as servile beggars, of popular favor. These 
gormandizers of poiwlarity are no epicures, — they have not very nice 
discriminating palates. They are ready to taste the sweets of every 



JOHN LOWELL. 279 

office, from the high dignity of the presidency, down to the lowest muni- 
cipal employment in the State. Still, however, with this humble 
spirit of accommodation, they cannot all be gratified. The disappointed 
will pursue their revenge with an acrimony proportioned to the raven- 
ous hunger after fame which impelled them. The mortified ambitious 
are never in want of tools to carry on the trade of faction. The igno- 
rant, the jealous, and the envious, — the bankrupt in morals and char- 
acter, and the insolvent in purse, — are the small weapons -with which 
the great leviathans in opposition continually operate. Review the 
past history of the United States, and what page is there in which the 
proofs of these principles are not inscribed ? Coeval with our govern- 
ment has been an inveterate opposition, — an opposition growing with 
our growth, and strengthening with our strength. At first, small and 
feeble, it uttered its discontents only in the gentle whispers of disap- 
probation ; — now, bold, hardy and shameless, it thunders its anathemas 
in the language of rebellion. We have remarked, that faction is the 
spontaneous production of a free soil ; but, like all native plants, it is 
not destined wholly to destroy the vegetation which surrounds it. It 
is by the introduction of exotics, alone, that the work of extermination 
can be effected. In vain would our domestic enemies assail the goodly 
fabric of our constitution, — vain would be the calumny against our 
ablest patriots, — feeble and nerveless ^YOuld be the assaults of our 
internal enemies, — if they were not supported by foreign gold, and 
encouraged by external assistance. Without this aid, our infant 
Hercules would have strangled the rebellious reptile in his cradle. 
Still our young and vigorous Samson would have burst asunder the 
cords with which an insidious faction had bound him, if this internal 
foe had not entered into a treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive, 
with a foreign adversary." 

In the oration of ]Mr. Lowell, an object of which is to vindicate our 
Revolution from the misrepresentation and calumnies of those who 
have endeavored, by its example, to justify that of France, our orator 
has, with much warmth of coloring and fervor of imagination, exhib- 
ited a comparison between the spirit and character of both. The two 
pictures present a perfect contrast. In that of America, we behold a 
people distinguished for unsullied virtue, uncorrupted simplicity, and 
a pure and undefiled religion, impelled by an ardent love of liberty, an 
unconquerable spirit of independence, a hatred of foreign dominion, 
and detestation of domestic oppression, calmly and dispassionately 



280 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

resolve to resist the earliest encroachments of arbitrary power, and 
pursuing, with moderation and firmness, that one legitimate object, 
preserving inviolate moral and religious institutions, the principles of 
justice, the order of civil society, and the rights of persons, — and, 
when their lofty purpose was accomplished, return to the enjoyment 
of innocence and repose. 

In another passage, Mr. Lowell points out the more imminent and 
striking hazards to which the United States were then exposed, from 
the open attacks and secret machinations of the rulers of France, 
boundless in their ambition, and insatiable in their avarice, whose 
support was plunder, whose nutriment was carnage, and whose pastime 
was human wretchedness. He depicted the conduct of the French 
republic towards surrounding nations, and demands if from so ferocious 
a monster we have reason to expect forbearance, to hope for its friend- 
ship, to trust to its moderation, or to confide in its justice. Those who 
still cherished the love of peace, and persevered in their faith of the 
professions of France, he reproaches for their supineness and credulity, 
reminding them of the opinion of John Adams, then the president, 
that "there can be no peace without degradation and submission, and 
no security in negotiation and convention." The law dissolving the 
treaties and consular convention with France was approved by Presi- 
dent Adams, July 7, 1798. 

John Lowell was the son of Hon. John Lowell, whom Harrison 
Gray Otis very graphically describes as being about five feet ten 
inches in height, and inclined to corpulence. " His gait was rapid and 
hurried ; his conversation, animated and ardent. He appeared to 
strangers, at first, to speak too much ex cathedra ; but he was free 
of all propensity to browbeat or show ill humor. On the contrary, 
he was the very mirror of benevolence, which beamed in and made 
attractive a countenance not remarkable for symmetry of feature or 
beauty ; and his companionable talents, though never displayed at the 
expense of dignity, made him the delight of the society in which he 
moved, and which he always put at ease. His private character was 
irreproachable ; his honesty and moderation, proverbial. In a satirical 
and very personal farce, got up by a witty desperado, and which had 
a great run, he was dubbed by the author — no friend of his — Lawyer 
Candor ; a most appropriate sobriquet, which the world unanimously 
apphed to him. He was most ardent in his attachment to his partic- 
ular friends, who, in their turn, looked to liim as their oracle. His 



JOHN LOWELL. 281 

general health," continues Mr. Otis, "during the time of my intimacy 
with him, was good, though occasionally inclined to be a malade imag- 
inaire, an ordinary symptom of ardent temperament and ethereal 
genius." He was known to be one of the confidential advisers of the 
measures that were successfully adopted to suppress that formidable 
outbreak of Shays' Insui-rection, and was appointed judge of the Dis- 
trict Court U. S. by Washington, on its institution. 

John Lowell, Jr., was born in Newbuiyport, Oct. 6, 1769. Soon 
after the town and harbor of Boston were evacuated by the royalists, 
in 1776, his father removed to the city with his family, where his res- 
idence was in the dwelling afterwards occupied by the late Samuel 
Eliot, Esq., directly opposite King's Chapel. He was for a brief 
period in the Latin School, but was fitted for college in Phillips' Acad- 
emy, and graduated at Harvard College in 1786. On this occasion 
his part was in a forensic dispute on this subject : Whether the happi- 
ness of the people consists most in the constitution or administration 
of government ; and in the year 1789, when a candidate for the degree 
of Master of Arts, he engaged in another forensic dispute, with Isaac 
Parker, afterwards the chief-justice of Massachusetts : Whether a law 
making administration between an insolvent by vice and one by mis- 
fortune, would tend to the good of society 7 He studied law with his 
father, and was admitted to the bar before he was twenty years of age. 
In preparing arguments, he was laborious and searching. In his man- 
ner he was animated, eloquent, vehement, rapid, and highly logical ; 
his memory Avas tenacious. In his person he was a great contrast to 
his father, being very short and slender. On June 3, 1793, Mr. 
Lowell married Rebecca Amory. He was a representative in the 
State Legislature from 1798 to 1801. He was a member of the cor- 
poration of Harvard College from 1810 to 1822, and was an overseer 
from that period to 1827. He was an honored member of the State 
Senate. 

Mr. Lowell's articles in Russell's Centinel, over the signature of the 
Boston Rebel, in opposition to the war of the United States and Great 
Britain, were of a character the most inflammatory of any political 
writings of that day. His productions were in a highly nervous style, 
abounding in piquant philippics. His remarks on Madison's war, in 
a large pamphlet, exhibited the most exciting attack on the democratic 
administration that emanated from any political writer. His fervid 
genius and rapid pen poured forth pamphlet after pamphlet, and column 
24* 



282 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

after column in the newspapers, replete with spirit and force and pur- 
pose, on the side of the Federal party, in warm opposition to the gen- 
eral government. In these exciting times, a rumor was circulated 
that some of those who had been exasperated by his political remarks 
had threatened to burn his house in Roxbury to the ground. This 
rumor was so far believed, that some of his friends went out or sent 
out from Boston to offer themselves as the guard of his person and 
property for the night. Mr. Lowell expressed his belief that his fel- 
low-townsmen were incapable of such an act, and insisted on declining 
the offer of defence. Indeed, no assistance beyond the limits of 
the town would in any case have been required ; for several of the 
most respectable inhabitants of Roxbury itself, and of both political 
parties, voluntarily offered to stand ready to defend to the last extrem- 
ity. Indeed, Mr. Lowell was an extraordinary man, adapted to 
exciting times. He was a tenacious sectarian in theology, and wrote 
with fervent severity. He entered with delight on the pursuits of 
agriculture. To hear him converse in his farm or his garden, one 
would suppose that his entire occupation was farming and gardening. 
He would discuss the qualities of a fruit-tree, or an exotic plant, with 
the same earnestness, copiousness and tact, that he would have given 
to a question of politics, law or divinity. Horticulture was also an 
object of devoted interest, and the periodical was enriched with articles 
for the florist from his ready hand. His residence in Boston was 
directly opposite Horticultural Hall, in School-street. 

Amid the violence of contending parties, Mr. Lowell's sincerity and 
integrity were never seriously questioned. His motives were manifestly 
pure, " He never sought a political office, and never would accept one. 
Amid all the buffets of the conflict, he never cherished one spark of 
malice," says Greenwood, " or one root of bitterness, in his heart, which 
was no place for one or the other ; and, as I lately glanced over some 
of the pamphlets of which he was the author, — not with all the attention 
they deserved, but with all I could spare, — entertaining the common 
impression that the zeal of the times and the zeal of his own nature 
had betrayed him into offensive and uncharitable statements, and 
remembering also, as I well remembered, the language of mutual exas- 
peration which was everywhere to be heard during that tempestuous 
period, I was surprised to find how little there was of an objection- 
able description in these writings ; and was rather struck with their 
power of argument and store of rich illustration, than with their heat. 



ROBERT TREAT PAINE. 283 

That night has gone by ; and, though the side which he espoused so 
disinterestedly did not prevail, I am disposed to think that his and his 
friends' efforts, with all the deductions which may be made from them, 
contributed to restore the morning." By resolute opposition, they most 
probably modified the measures of the other party to beneficial results. 
The winter of 1839 was spent by Mr. Lowell in the West India Islands, 
which he had visited for his health. He returned with improved health, 
but very much enfeebled. On the 12th of INIarch, 1840, as he was 
reading a daily paper in his residence in the city, the summoner came ;. 
the paper dropped from his hands, and he expired that very hour, 
without suffering. He was buried in Roxbury. Dinsmore thus 
emphasizes : 

•' Lowell and Channing may debate, 

As politicians wise and great 

Predict their country's future fate, 
By reasoning clear, 

And show blind rulers of the State 
What course to steer." 



ROBERT TREAT PAINE. 

JULY 17, 1799. ON THE DISSOLUTION OF THE TREATIES AND CONSULAR CON- 
VENTION BETWEEN FRANCE AND THE UNITED STATES. FOR THE YOUNG 
MEN OF BOSTON. 

"It is a day," says our orator, "which will forever be illustrious in 
our annals. It is the completion of our liberties, the acme of our inde- 
pendence. The Fourth of July will be celebrated by our latest pos- 
terity, as the splendid era of our national glory ; but the Seventh will 
be venerated as the dignified epoch of our national character. The 
one annihilated our colonial submission to a powerful, avowed, and 
determined foe ; the other emancipated us from the oppressive friend- 
ship of an ambitious, malignant, treacherous ally. The former asserted 
our political supremacy, which preserved to us our country from sub- 
jection, our liberties from encroachment, and our government from for- 
eign control; the latter united to the same momentous object a 
declaration of our moral sovereignty, Avhicli rescued our principles 
from subjugation, as well as our persons from slavery; which secured 



284 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

our cities from massacre, as well as their inhabitants from debasement ; 
•which preserved our fair ones from violation, as well as our religion 
from bondage. In fine, the Declaration of Independence, -which dis- 
solved our connection with Great Britain, may be correctly denomi- 
nated the birth-day of our nation, when, as its infant genius was ushered 
into political existence, a lambent flame of glory played around its 
brows, in presage of its future greatness. But the period which sun- 
dered our alliance with France may be pronounced the day of our 
nation's manhood, when this genius had become an Hercules, who, no 
longer amused with the coral and bells of • liberty and equality,' — 
no longer 'pleased with the rattles, tickled with the straws,' of 
•'health and fraternity,' — no longer willing to trifle at the distaff of 
a 'lady negotiator,' — boldly invested himself in the toga virilis^ and 
assumed his rank in the forum of nations. 

" It will, therefore, in all ages be pointed to as a luminous page in 
our history, when the patriotic statesmen of America, with a decision 
of character which has shot a ray of enthusiasm into the coldest regions 
of Europe, cut asunder the inexplicable knot of so contagious a con- 
nection, and forever abolished the impohtic and deleterious instrument 
which had created it ; when that memorable treaty, which had hnked 
together two heterogeneous nations in an unnatural, unequal and hate- 
ful alhance, after an attenuated Hfe of twenty years, was ignominiously 
committed to the grave, where, in the language of French philosophy, 
'its death will prove an eternal sleep.' " 

Robert Treat Paine, whose name was originally Thomas, and changed 
in 1801 by an act of the INIassachusetts Legislature, as he was desirous 
of being known by a Christian name, abhorring an association of the 
man who, in his Age of Reason, lost his Common Sense, was born 
in Taunton, Bristol county, Mass., Dec. 9, 1773. His father was the 
celebrated Robert Treat Paine, who acted as counsel for the lirown, in 
company with Samuel Quincy, in the trial of the British soldiers for 
the massacre in King-street ; and was, moreover, one of the signers of 
the Declaration of Independence, whose residence was at the corner 
of Milk and Federal streets. Young Robert was early in the school 
of Master James Carter. In the year 1781 he entered the Latin 
School, under Master James Hunt ; he graduated at Harvard College 
in 1792, on which occasion he delivered an oration on the Nature and 
Progress of Liberty, — a theme naturally expected from a scion of 
the Revolution. He was stimulated to a taste for poetry by the famous 



ROBERT TREAT PAINE, 285 

Joseph Allen, the laureate of his class, who inscribed on the college- 
wall several abusive satirical verses on Paine, who fearlessly repelled 
him in rhyme ; and he once remarked, that if it were not for this cir- 
cumstance, probably he never should have undertaken a couplet. On 
leaving college, he entered the store of Mr. James Tisdale, a Boston 
merchant ; but his mind was so much absorbed in poetry, that he made 
entries in the day-book in verse, and once made out a charter party in 
the same style. He soon became devoted to the theatre, which, con- 
trary to law, had been established in Board-alley, in 1792, by a small 
party of actors from England, — 

" And plays their heathen names forsook, 
And those of ' Moral Lectures ' took." 

The law was abrogated, and in 1793 an elegant brick theatre was 
erected in Federal-street, on which occasion the prize medal was 
awarded to him for the best prologue on the occasion. His mind was 
so averse to mercantile pursuits, that he left Mr. Tisdale in 1794. In 
October of that year he established a political and literary paper, — 
"The Federal Orrery," — in which appeared "The Jacobiniad," a 
political poem, and also "The Lyars," from both of which passages 
appear in this volume. So caustic and personal were these produc- 
tions, that it drew upon him the summary vengeance of a mob, who 
attacked the dwelling of Major Wallach, with whom he rpsided, and 
who gallantly defended his castle, and compelled them to retreat. The 
son of a gentleman at whom the shafts of wit had been aimed called 
upon Paine for satisfaction, which was denied. The parties accident- 
ally met, — Mr. Paine presented his pistol, but the assailant fearlessly 
rushed forward, and violently assaulted him. In 1797 Mr. Paine 
married Elizabeth Baker, who was a retired actress, and they were 
forbid his father's dwelling. They were hospitably sheltered in the 
family of Major Wallach for the period of fifteen months. With tears 
of gratitude Mr. Paine once remarked, " When I lost a father, I 
gained a wife and found a friend." In the year 1798 a reconciliation 
was effected ; and it is related that at a congratulatory party the forth- 
coming sentiments were publicly advanced, "The love of liberty and 
the liberty of loving ; " " Champagne to real friends, and real pain to 
sham friends." Paine was bold in his views, quick at retort, and 
sometimes fearfully sarcastic. His genius was certainly of a high 
order, and his imagination prolific. His talents always commanded 



a»t) THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

admiration, his wit excited merriment and delight. He was followed 
and eulogized, honored by social attentions in the higher ranks, and 
viewed as the first poet of the town. His poem on " The Invention 
of Letters" was greatly admired, and Washington sent him a letter 
highly expressive of admiration at its merits. It afforded him a profit 
of fifteen hundred dollars. " The Ruhng Passion," intended as a 
gallery of portraits, is a rare production, for which he reaUzed a profit 
of twelve hundred dollars. 

In 1798 Mr. Paine wrote the celebrated national song of Adams 
and Liberty ; and never was a political song more favorably received 
than this patriotic effusion. Visiting Major Russell, of the Centinel, 
it was pronounced as imperfect, for the conception of Washington was 
not advanced. The sideboard was replenished, and Paine was ready 
for a libation, when Major Russell familiarly interposed, and insisted, 
in his humorous manner, that he should not slake his thirst till he 
had written an additional stanza, in wliich Washington should be 
introduced. Paine paced back and forth a few minutes, and, suddenly 
starting, called for a pen. He forthwith wrote the following sublime 
stanza : 

" Should the tempest of war overshadow our land, 

Its bolts could ne'er rend Freedom's temple asunder ; 
For, unmoved, at its portal, would Washington stand, 
And repulse, with his breast, the assaults of the thunder ! 
His sword from the sleep 
Of its scabbard would leap, 
And conduct with its point every flash to the deep ! " 

Paine's eulogy on the death of Washington was serious even to 
sadness, with the melancholy reflections inspired by that event. 

In a political discussion, which was conducted with warmth, in 
1807, Mr. Paine once said of the Essex Junto, "Washington was its 
subhme head, and the tower of its strength ; it was informed by the 
genius and guided by the energy of Hamilton. Since their decease, 
nothing but the Attic salt of Fisher Ames has preserved it from putre- 
faction. When the ethereal spirits escaped, the residuum settled into 
faction. It has captured Boston, and keeps it in tow, hke a prize-ship." 

In 1799 Mr. Paine became a student at law under the eminent 
Judge Parsons, at Newburyport, who greatly esteemed him; was 
admitted to Suffolk bar in 1802 ; retired from the profession in 1809, 
and removed to Dorchester ; but he soon returned to Boston, and 
became an inmate at his father's mansion, where he wrote, at the 



JOHN THORNTON KIRKLAND. 287 

request of the Jockey Club, " The Steeds of Apollo." This was his 
last famous effusion. Depressed in spirits, afflicted with disease, and 
reduced in his circumstances, he died, Nov. 14, 1811. 

President Allen remarks of Paine, "There is nothing of simple, 
natural beauty in his writings ; his poetry is entirely unworthy of 
the praise extended in its favor, and his prose is in bad taste ; " while 
Bradford, on the other hand, was of opinion that Paine resembled 
Pope more than any English poet, and was always happy in his 
phraseology : but it is probable the fact lies between the two extremes. 
Boston may well be proud of his talent, and throw away the weeds 
that blemish his fame. Everett says that "Paine was a luckless 
man, but, oh ! how sweet a bard ! " 

" Never shall his tuneful numbers - 
Charm the listening ear again, — 
Cold and silent where he slumbers, 
Genius weeps the fate of Paine." 

The Hon. Judge Story remarks of him that he enjoyed reputation, in 
his day, not since attained by any American poet. 



JOHN THORNTON KIRKLAND. 

DEC. 29, 1799. EULOGY ON WASHINGTON. 

" America, without Washington," says Kirkland, " resembles the 
earth without the light of day. Associated as he was with all we 
loved and valued in our country, possessions, pursuits and pleasures, 
for a time, sink in our esteem. We exulted in our country, because 
it gave him birth ; we thought better of our nature, because it pro- 
duced such a man. The sense of this gift of Heaven increased the 
fervor of our devotions ; and our national felicity seemed to be crowned 
in Washington. Time has been, when, indeed, his services were more 
immediately necessary, and the political salvation of his country 
seemed to depend on the continuance of his hfe. But if his departure 
at this time has a less unpropitious aspect upon the public prosperity, 
yet it cannot be thought unimportant to the momentous interests of the 



JsbO THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

empire, whilst it arrests our melancholy feelings, and wounds our 
fond attachment to his name. His sun approached the horizon ; yet, 
with delighted eyes, we gazed on its parting splendor, believing that, 
if clouds should thicken to a tempest in our political sky, it would 
shine out in all its meridian brightness, and chase them away. Though 
he had left the drama to distinguished actors, yet he might again be 
called out to support a part in some master scene, to which no other 
man might be found suited. Nay, he was already prepared, if the 
catastrophe should require it, to step upon the stage, and be the hero 
of the eventful tragedy into which his country seemed to be hastening. 
Was the nation to be roused from dangerous sleep 7 — his name was 
sounded in their ears. Was faction to be driven from the light '? — it 
was pointed to his awful frown. Was a foreign foe to be deterred from 
invasion 7 — it was shown his hand upon his sword. With him its 
patron, the federal administration would not despair of final support ; 
with him their leader, the armies of America would be ineffectually 
held up to odium, would be created with facility, and, in every con- 
flict, would feel invincible. In the present dubious aspect of our 
national interests, everything was hoped, in aid of the present system, 
from the part which he would take, in case of civil dissension, or 
increased danger from foreign arts or arms." 

John Thornton Kirkland was born at Little Falls, Herkimer 
county, N. Y., August 17, 1770; entered Philhps' Academy in 
1784; graduated at Harvard College in 1789; became assistant 
teacher at Andover Academy ; studied theology, and was a tutor in 
Harvard College, when he gave the salutatory oration. A singular 
episode in his college life was his having borne arms in the winter 
vacation of his sophomore year, during the campaign to suppress 
Shays' Insurrection. He was pastor of the New South Church, from 
Feb. 5, 1794, until his induction to the presidency of Harvard College, 
Nov. 14, 1810, which station he occupied until his resignation, Aug. 
27, 1828. He was the Phi Beta Kaj^pa orator at Cambridge in 
1798. He married Elizabeth, the only daughter of Hon. George 
Cabot, Sept. 1, 1827. After his retirement from public life. Dr. 
Kirkland suffered from the effects of a paralysis, with powers of mind 
and body considerably impaired ; but with the same undisturbed and 
delightful temper, and with an occasional flash of those clear and 
profound thoughts, says Eliot, that intellectual humor, and those 
generous affections, which in previous years had been the delight of all 



JOHN THORNTON KIRKLAND. 289 

who knew him. The carelessness which made him write his sermons 
upon mere scraps of paper, in an almost illegible hand, and the physical 
indolence which made him neglect to transcribe or arrange them, might 
excite a smile, rather than provoke a frown ; and it has been well said 
of Dr. Kirkland, that his sermons were full of intellectual wealth and 
practical wisdom, with sometimes a quaintness that bordered on humor, 
yet had never been inspired by the peculiar- genius of pulpit eloquence. 
He was president of the Anthology Club. His biography of Fisher 
Ames is one of the most classic productions of an American mind. 
After having visited Europe, Egypt, and Palestine, he died at Boston, 
of an inveterate disease that had long afflicted him, April 26, 1840. 

His successor, President Quincy, remarks of him : " Possessing 
talents of a high order, Avhich he had diligently cultivated, enjoying 
the friendship and confidence of many of the most influential and 
eminent men among his contemporaries, combining great sagacity Avith 
great knowledge of human nature, *he conducted this seminary for a 
succession of years prosperously and with great popularity. Under 
his auspices, the standard necessary for obtaining admission to its 
privileges was raised, its literary character elevated, the general sphere 
of its usefulness extended, and great improvements effected ; " and Dr. 
Young, his successor in the pastoral care of the New South Church, 
says of him, in his highly graphic biography, of which a divine of another 
sect said he did not see how it could be better written, "What style 
shall I set forth of this excellent man, to whom I never came but I 
grew stronger in moral virtue, from whom I never went but I parted 
better instructed '? If I speak much, it were not to be marvelled ; if I 
speak frankly, it is not to be blamed ; and though I speak partially, 
it were to be pardoned." 

The preaching of Ivirkland was of the same character with his 
conversation, says Young. It was sententious, and full of apo- 
thegms. There was not much visible logic or induction in his dis- 
courses. The description which he gives of Fisher Ames' writings is 
strikingly applicable to his own. When the result of his researches 
was exhibited in discourse, the steps of a logical process were in some 
measure concealed by the coloring of rhetoric. It was the prerogative 
of his mind to discern by a glance, so rapid as to seem intuition, 
those truths which common capacities struggle hard to comprehend. 
His style is conspicuous for sententious brevity, for antithesis and 
point. Single ideas appear with so much lustre and prominence, that 
25 



290 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

the connection of the several parts of his discourse is not always obvious 
to the common mind, and the aggregate impression of the composition 
is not always completely obtained. His learning seldom appeared as 
such, but was interwoven with his thoughts, and became his own. 

There was little apparent method, arrangement or connection, in 
Dr. Kirkland's preaching ; so that it was not uncommon for him to 
bring into the pulpit half a dozen sermons or more, and, on the instant, 
construct a new sermon as he went along, turning the leaves backwards 
and forwards, and connecting them together by the thread of his 
extemporaneous discourse. These scattered leaves resembled those of 
the Sybil, not only in their confusion, causing many to marvel how he 
could marshal and manage them so adroitly, but also in their hidden 
•wisdom, and in the fact that when two-thirds of what he had thus 
brought into the pulpit was omitted, — thrown by, as unworthy of 
delivery, — the remaining third, which he uttered, was more precious 
than the entire pile of manuscript, containing, as it did, the spirit and 
essence, the condensed and concentrated wisdom, of the whole. 

Condensation, indeed, continues Dr. Young, was his crowning 
faculty. It was here, especially, that he manifested the supremacy of 
his intellect. He always spoke from a crowded and overflowing mind. 
Although he said so much, you felt that there was much more behind 
unsaid. He poured himself forth into a full stream of thought, which 
evidently flowed from a living and inexhaustible fountain. Chief 
Justice Parsons used to say that Dr. Kirkland put more thought into 
one sermon than other ministers did into five. And how much weight 
and wisdom were there even in single sentences of his writings, as 
when, in his Life of Fisher Ames, he says, "He did not need the 
smart of guilt to make him virtuous, nor the regret of folly to make 
him wise ; " and when, in the same work, he says, " The admission of 
danger implies duty ; and many refuse to be alarmed, because they 
wish to be at ease." Such was his wonderful and accurate knowledge 
of human nature, and his clear insight into the springs of human 
action, that sometimes, when I have heard Kirkland preach, it seemed 
to me that he had actually got his hand into my bosom, and that I 
could feel him moving it about, and inserting his fingers into all the 
interstices and crevices of my heart. According to Dr. Palfrey, 
there were twelve hundred graduates of Harvard College who enjoyed 
his care, having been, at the period of his decease, nearly one quarter 
part of the whole that had been educated at that institution. 



FISHER AMES, 291 

FISHER AMES. 

FEB. 8, 1800. STATE EUtOGY ON WASHINGTON. 

In the speech of Hon. Fisher Ames, on Jay's treaty, April 28, 
1796, delivered on the floor of Congress, he says : " We are either to 
execute this treaty, or break our faith. To expatiate on the value of 
public faith, may pass with some men for declamation. To such men 
I have nothing to say. To others, I will urge, can any circumstance 
mark upon a people more turpitude and debasement 1 Can anything 
tend more to make men think themselves mean, or degrade to a lower 
point their estimation of virtue, and their standard of action ? It would 
not merely demorahze mankind ; it tends to break all the ligaments of 
society, to dissolve that mysterious charm which attracts individuals to 
the nation, and to inspire in its stead a repulsive sense of shame and 
disgust. 

" What is patriotism? Is it a narrow affection for the spot where a 
man was born ? Are the very clods where we tread entitled to this 
ardent preference, because they are greener ? No, sir ; this is not 
the character of the virtue, and it soars higher for its object. It is an 
extended self-love, mingling with all the enjoyments of life, and twist- 
ing itself with the minutest filaments of the heart. It is thus we 
obey the laws of society, because they are the laws of virtue. In 
their authority we see not the array of force and terror, but the vener- 
able image of our country's honor. Every good citizen makes that 
honor his own, and cherishes it not only as precious, but as sacred. He 
is willing to risk his life in its defence, and is conscious that he gains 
protection while he gives it. For what rights of a citizen will be 
deemed inviolable, when a State renounces the principles that consti- 
tute their security 7 Or, if his life should not be invaded, what would 
its enjoyment be, in a country odious in the eyes of strangers, and dis- 
honored in his own 1 Could he look with affection and veneration to 
such a country as his parent ? The sense of having one would die 
within him. He would blush for his patriotism, if he retained any ; 
and justly, for it would be a vice. He would be a banished man in his 
native land. 

" I see no exception to the respect that is paid among nations to the 
law of good faith. If there are cases in this enlightened period when 



292 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

it is violated, there arc none when it is denied. It is the philosophy 
of politics, the religion of governments. It is observed by barbarians. 
A -whiff of tobacco-smoke, or a string of beads, gives not merely bind- 
ing force, but sanctity, to treaties: Even in Algiers, a truce may be 
bought for money ; but, when ratified, even Algiers is too wise or too 
just to disown and annul its obligation. Thus, we see, neither the igno- 
rance of savages, nor the principles of an association for piracy and 
rapine, permit a nation to despise its engagements. If, sir, there could 
be a resurrection from the foot of the gallows, — if the victims of jus- 
tice could live again, collect together, and form a society, — they would, 
however loath, soon find themselves obliged to make justice — that 
justice under which they fell — the fundamental law of their state. 
They would perceive it was their interest to make others respect, and 
they would therefore soon pay some respect themselves, to the obliga- 
tions of good faith." 

Fisher Ames was born at Dedham, April 9, 1758, and was the 
youngest son of Dr. Nathaniel Ames, who was for forty years a noted 
author of almanacs ; of whom it is related, having accidentally entered 
in one of them the prediction of snow in June, and a snow-storm 
occurring on the day named, it caused a rapid sale of his almanacs. 
It is related in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, that Dr. 
Nathaniel Ames, whose son Nathaniel was a surgeon in the army of 
the Revolution, had two wives, Mary and Deborah, successively of the 
name of Fisher. The first dying young, but not until after his 
mother, and her estate having vested in him, gave rise to the famous 
lawsuit, in which it was first determined that real estate ascended, con- 
trary to the English rule, to the father, as next of kin, by the province 
law. Dr. Ames was a public taverner at Dedham ; and there is a 
tradition that, after this case was decided, a sign-board was suspended 
over his door, with the painted figure of the judges, in full-bottomed 
wigs and robes, among whom were caricatured the two who were of 
adverse opinion. This being viewed as a contempt of court, it was 
shortly after taken down. Dr. Ames died at Dedham in 1764, aged 
fifty-seven years. His son Fisher Avas born in the Woodward man- 
sion, on the north side of the court-house, opposite the monumental 
stone, surmounted by a pillar and a bust, erected in honor of William 
Pitt, for his services to the colonies. He graduated at Harvard College 
in 1774 ; studied law under Judge Tudor, and became a counsellor-at- 
law. In 1788 he was a representative in the State Legislature ; and 



FISHER AMES. 293 

was elected to Congress for Suffolk county, December 18tli of the same 
year, in opposition to Samuel Adams, and was probably the junior 
member of the house. He was also a delegate to the State convention 
on the federal constitution, in 1788 ; and was of the State Executive 
Council, in 1800. Mr. Ames married Frances, daughter of John 
Worthington, Esq., July 15, 1792. He continued in Congress during 
a period of eight years, where he displayed irresistible eloquence ; and, 
after his memorable speech in favor of the treaty with Great Britain, 
from which a passage is presented at the head of this article, a mem- 
ber, opposed to Ames, objected to taking a vote at that time, as they 
had been overwhelmed by his eloquence. One day, when in the book- 
store of Manning & Loring, in Boston, on observing their new edi- 
tion of Perry's Dictionary, which was on the counter, in which words 
are accented, — "Here is a book," said Ames, "showing us how to 
pronounce words." After a moment's reflection, he continued, " But 
we are told that the best standard of pronunciation is the imitation of 
the best speakers." The residence of Fisher Ames was in the dwell- 
ing now occupied by John Gardner, Esq. He died at Dedham, July 
4, 1808. The stanzas herewith added were sung in King's Chapel, 
July 6, 1808, after the delivery of the eulogy of Samuel Dexter over 
the remains of Fisher Ames, and are ascribed to Rev. Dr. Gardiner : 

"As, -when dark clouds obscure the dawn. 

The day-star's lustre disappears, 
So Ames beheld our natal morn. 

And left desponding friends in tears. 
Soon as the distant cannon's roar 

Announced that morn's returning ray, 
He feared its early hopes were o'er. 

And fiew to everlasting day. 
0, drop thy mantle, sainted shade. 

On some surviving patriot name, 
Who, great by thy example made. 

May yet retrieve a nation's fame ! 
The manly genius, ardent thought. 

The love of truth, and wit refined. 
The eloquence that wonders wrought, 

And flashed its light on every mind, — 
These gifts were thine, immortal Ames ! 

Of motive pure, of life sublime ; 
Their loss our flowing sorrow claims, — 

Their praise survives the wreck of time." 

25* 



294 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

President Dwight, of Yale College, remarked of Fisher Ames that 
few men have so much good sense, and none with whom I have con- 
versed, a mind so ready to furnish, at every call, the facts which should 
be remembered, the truths which should be declared, the arguments 
which should be urged, language in which they might be clearly and 
forcibly expressed, and images with which they might be beautifully 
adorned. His imagination was perhaps too brilliant, and too rich. It 
could hardly be said that any of the pictures which it drew were ill- 
drawn or out of place ; yet it might, I think, be truly said, that the 
gallery was crowded. The excess was not, however, the consequence 
of a defective taste, or a sohcitude to shine ; but the produce of a fancy 
over creative, always exuberant, and exerting its powers more easily in 
this manner than in any other. To speak and write as he actually 
spoke and wrote, was only to permit the thoughts and images which 
first offered themselves to flow from his lips or his pen. 

"Mr. Ames was distinguished by a remarkable and very amiable sim- 
plicity of character. In circles where any man would have thought it 
an honor to shine, and where he always shone with superior lustre, he 
appeared entirely to forget himself, and to direct all his observations to 
the entertainment of the company, and the elucidation of the subject. 
Whenever he conversed, it was impossible to fail of receiving both 
instruction and delight. But the instruction flowed not from the pride 
of talents, or the ambition of being brilliant. Whatever was the field 
of thought, he expanded it ; whatever was the theme of discussion, he 
gave it new splendor. But the manner in which he did both showed 
irresistibly that they were the most obvious and the least laborious 
employments of such a fancy. His sense of rectitude, both public 
and personal, was not only exact, but delicate and exquisite. His 
patriotism was glowing. Eminent as he was among those who were 
most eminent, I should more strongly covet his private character;" and 
President Allen says of Ames, he compelled assent more by striking 
allusions than by regular deductions, and for charms of conversation 
was unequalled. Ames was opposed to democracy, as it would end in 
monarchy ; and was an ardent advocate of the Federal party, as being 
the shield of our constitution. 

Though the professional brethren of Fisher Ames held him in the 
highest respect, they concurred with President Kirkland, who prepared 
the biography prefixed to his collected works, that he was more adapted 
for the senate than the bar. It was easy and delightful to him to illus- 



FISHER AMES. 295 

trate by a picture, but painful and laborious to prove by a diagram. 
He was a man of purest morals, of most amiable disposition, and most 
sincerely beloved by bis friends, among whom were some of the most 
eminent men of that day. He was graphically sketched by Sullivan, 
" as above the middle stature, and well formed. His features were not 
strongly marked. His forehead was neither high nor expansive. His 
eyes were blue and of middling size, his mouth handsome, his hair 
black, and short on the forehead, and in his latter years unpowdered. 
He was very erect, and when speaking he raised his head, or rather his 
chin, with the most projected part of liis face. His face had a most 
complacent expression when he was speaking ; and when he meant to 
be severe, it was seen in good-natured sarcasm, rather than in ill-natured 
words. It was said that the beautiful productions of his pen were the 
first flowings of his mind, and hardly corrected for the press. His life 
is supposed to have been shortened by his excessive anxiety about his 
country. Many of his predictions have been realized, and some of 
them in his lifetime. His air, manner and countenance, Avere those 
of an honest and sincere man. The condition of the country furnishes 
abundant proof that he was, politically, a wise man. All his mournful 
prophecies seem to be in the course of fulfilment." 

Fisher Ames once said : " If every gravestone of a departed repub- 
lic bore a lesson of wisdom and warning, the democrats would shut their 
eyes rather than look upon it. They have no idea of any principles, 
excepting their extremes when they are no longer principles;" and, 
in his Dangers of American Liberty, he asserts "it never happened 
in the world, and it never will, that a democracy has been kept out of 
the control of the fiercest and most turbulent spirits in the society. 
They breathe into it all their own fury, and make it subservient to the 
worst designs of the worst men ; " and in another paragraph exclaims : 
"All history lies open for our warning, — open like a church-yard, 
all whose lessons are solemn, and chiselled for eternity in the hard 
stone; — lessons that whisper, — ! that they could thunder to repub- 
lics, — ' Your passions and your vices forbid you to be free ! ' " 

Upon one occasion, Judge Story related the following anecdote in 
relation to three great men. " Samuel Dexter," said he, " was one 
of those men whom, as was said of Burke, if you should meet on a 
rainy day beneath a shed, you would at once distinguish as a great 
man. A few moments' conversation with Mr. Dexter showed this ; 
and I remember that when I first met him, not knowing who he was, I 



296 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

stared in wonderment, — and yet his mind was rather of a brilliant 
shade than a great one. Mr. Dexter was once in company with Fisher 
Ames and Chief Justice Marshall. The latter commenced a conver- 
sation, or rather an opinion (for he Avas almost solus in the dialogue), 
which lasted some three hours. On breaking up, the two former com- 
menced, on their way homeward, praising the depth and learning of 
their noble host. Said Ames, after a short talk, ' To confess the 
truth, Dexter, I have not understood a word of his argument for half 
an hour.' 'And I,' good-humoredly rejoined Dexter, 'have been out 
of my depth for an hour and a half " 

In Felt's Memorials of William S. Shaw, we find it stated by Hannah 
Adams, in a letter to Mr. Shaw, that in the year 1790 she sent a 
petition to Congress, which Mr. Ames presented at her request, for a 
general law to be passed which would secure to authors the exclusive 
right of their publications. We find, on turning to the laws of Con- 
gress, that this act, which is entitled an act for the encouragement of 
learning, etc., Avas established on the 31st of May, 1790. 

The following incident regarding Fisher Ames is worthy of record. 
There lived in Dedham a farmer of great natural wit and smartness of 
repartee, — one Joseph Kingsbury, — who had a great partiality for Mr. 
Ames, yet would never let pass an opportunity of showing his tact, even 
at the expense of his friend. A town-meeting was held, at which Mr. 
Ames made an eloquent speech. Kingsbury, in his dirty frock and 
trousers, had taken a seat in the adjoining pew ; and no sooner had our 
orator finished, than he rose and said, " Mr. Moderator, my brother 
Ames' eloquence reminds me of nothing but the shining of a fire-fly, 
which gives just light enough to show its own insignificance;" and 
down he sat, having thus, at a blow, by exciting the risibles of the 
audience, defeated the effect of Mr. Ames' eloquence. 

In public speaking, Fisher Ames trusted much to excitement, and 
did little more in his closet than draw the outlines of his speech and 
reflect on it, till he had received deeply the impressions he intended to 
make ; depending for the turns and figures, says Kirkland, of lan- 
guage, illustrations, and modes of appeal to the passions, on his imag- 
ination and feelings at the time. This excitement continued, when the 
cause had ceased to operate. After debate, his mind was agitated hke 
the ocean after a storm, and his nerves were Hke the shrouds of a ship 
torn by the tempest. When Washington died, he pronounced his 
eulogy before the State Legislature. This performance, though it 



FISHER AMES. 297 

contains touches of real pathos, is less impassioned than might at first 
be expected. The numerous funeral honors paid to the memory of this 
beloved man had already made a great demand on the public sensibil- 
ity. Mr. Ames chose rather to dwell on the political events and acts 
which illustrated his character, than merely to draw tears for his loss : 
and it abounds in accurate discrimination and sententious wisdom. 

From his knowledge of afiairs, says Kirkland, and his confidential 
standing with those who were principals in efiecting a measure regard- 
ing the public credit, he might have made himself a gainer, along with 
the public, by the funding system. But he consulted his hvely sense 
of reputation by a scrupulous abstinence from participating in this 
advantage. He observed upon a calumny, which was uttered not 
because it was deserved, but because it might be believed, " I have too 
good proofs of the want of property for surmise to the contrary to have 
weight ; I have much more occasion to justify myself to my family for 
being poor, than to repel the charge by being rich." His delicate 
mind and amiable temper made the contests of his public station often 
irksome. Though he did not allow himself to complain, yet he some- 
times felt these irritations with much sensibility. " The value of 
friends," he observes, "is the most apparent and highest rated to 
those who mingle in the conflicts of political life. The sharp contests 
for little points wound the mind, and the ceaseless jargon of hypocrisy 
overpowers the faculties. I turn from scenes which provoke and dis- 
gust me, to the contemplation of the interest I have in private life, and 
to the pleasures of society with those friends whom I have so much 
reason to esteem." 

Fisher Ames was a devoted member of the Episcopal church in 
Dedham, and ever entered with spirit and devotion into the service, by 
audibly responding in the litany and gloria patri. He observed to a 
friend, one day, after reading " Nelson on the Fasts and Feasts," that 
he admired the church, though he would wish to be understood that he 
did not consider all those holy days to be essential. It was observed 
to him that the Episcopal church differed very widely from the Con- 
gregational platform, in her ordination, government, and mode of wor- 
ship. He replied ; " The difference is what I like, and for which I give 
the church the preference." He directed his parish taxes to be paid to 
the rector of the Episcopal church, whom he requested, during his last 
illness, to come to his house and have the church service, and make it 
familiar to his family. On the Christmas eve of 1807, he had his 



298 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

house decorated -witli green boughs, and made some beautiful observa- 
tions on that ancient custom, which has become as venerable by age as 
the church catechism. Some time after he was a member of the 
church, one INIadam Sprague proposed to dispose of her pew in the 
Congregational church at a very low rate, and which was the best 
pew in the house. lie replied to her that he did not desire it. She 
then said, " If they build a new, splendid meeting-house, INIr. Ames, I 
presume you will return to the old society." On which he gravely 
replied : " No, madam ; if they erect a meeting-house of silver, and 
hne it with gold, and give me the best pew in it, I shall go to the 
Episcopal church." 

In the poem by John Pierpont, recited at the celebration of the 
Newburyport Washington Benevolent Society, Oct. 27, 1812, appeare 
this glowing tribute to Fisher Ames : 

' ' Then a bright spirit, free from every vice 
As was the rose that bloomed in Paradise, — 
A zeal as warm to see his country blest 
As lived in Cato's or Lycurgus' breast ; 
A fancy chaste and vigorous as strong 
To holy themes Isaiah's hallowed tongue ; 
And strains as eloquent as Zion heard. 
When, on his golden harp, her royal bard 
AVaked to a glow devotion's dying flames, 
Flowed from the lips and warmed the soul of Ames. 
Like Memnon's harp, that breathed a mournful tone 
When on its strings the rays of morning shone, 
That stainless spirit, on approaching night. 
Was touched and saddened by prophetic light ; 
And, as the vision to his view was given. 
That spirit sunk, and, sighing, fled to heaven." 



TIMOTHY BIGELOW. 

FEB. 11, 1800. EULOGY ON WASHINGTON. FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS GRAND 
LODGE. 

"His administration was a satire on those who are born to rule," 
says Mr. Bigelow. " Making the general good the sole object of his 
pursuit, and carefully distinguishing the attention which was due from 



TIMOTHY BIGELOW. 299 

him as an individual to the claims of relation and friendship, from the 
duties he owed to the public, he never yielded to the influence of 
private partiahty, nor stooped to the lo^Y pohcy of aggrandizing his 
family by the gifts of office. He bestowed employments on those only 
who added to integrity the qualities necessary to discharge them. 
Patient in investigation, and cautious in research, he formed his reso- 
lutions with deliberation, and executed them with decision. Conscious 
of the purity of his motives, and satisfied with the propriety of his 
determinations, — daily estimating, also, the sacred duty of maintaining 
the constitutional rights of his office, — he was not to be soothed into 
dishonorable compliance by the blandishments of flattery, nor diverted 
from his purposes by the terror of numbers, or the imposing Aveight of 
public character. When a revolution, unprecedented in its kind, had 
involved the European world in confusion, and the flame of war 
was spreading into other quarters of the globe, neither the insidious 
attempts of the emissaries of France, nor the treacherous arts of her 
American adherents, could induce him to hazard our quiet. Though 
himself a soldier, and equal to the emergencies of war, he perceived 
not only the true interests of his country, but justice and humanity, 
enjoined a continuance of peace. He therefore wisely adjusted the 
misunderstandings which threatened our tranquillity, and resolved on 
a strict neutrality. Our own experience, and the events which have 
since transpired in other countries, have fully justified the measure. 
Yet, strange to tell, disappointed faction, despairing of success in an 
impeachment of his discernment or understanding, has dared here to 
arraign the purity of his motives. Circumstances seem to have placed 
him beyond the reach of suspicion. His wealth was more than suf- 
ficient for all the purposes of splendid enjoyment ; he had no posterity 
to inherit hereditary honors ; and he was surely too wise not to know 
that a crown would tarnish his glory, — that his own reputation was 
inseparably connected with the prosperity of his country, — that his 
fame would mount no higher than her eagle could soar. What more 
than ho possessed could ambition pant for? What further had the 
world to bestow ? * * * * Animated with a generous philan- 
thropy, our deceased brother early sought admission into our ancient 
and honorable fraternity, at once to enable him to cherish with advan- 
tage this heavenly principle, and enlarge the sphere of its operation. 
He cultivated our art with sedulous attention, and never lost an 
opportunity of advancing the interest or promoting the honor of the 



300 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

craft. "Wliile commander-in-chief of the American Revolutionary 
army, he countenanced the establishment and encouraged the labors 
of a travelling lodge among the military. He wisely considered it as 
a school of urbanity, well calculated to disseminate those mild virtues 
of the heart so ornamental to the human character, and so peculiarly 
useful to correct the ferocity of soldiers, and alleviate the miseries of 
war. The cares of his high office engrossed too much of his time 
to admit of his engaging in the duties of the chair ; yet he found 
frequent opportunities to visit the lodge, and thought it no derogation 
from his dignity there to stand on a level with the brethren. True to 
our principles on all occasions, an incident once occurred which enabled 
him to display their influence to his foes. A body of American troops, 
in some successful rencounter with the enemy, possessed themselves, 
among other booty, of the jewels and furniture of a British travelling 
lodge of Masons. This property was directed by the commander-in- 
chief to be returned, under a flag of truce, to its former proprietors, 
accompanied with a message, purporting that the Americans did not 
make war upon institutions of benevolence." 

We find a highly independent and dignified passage in the oration 
of Mr. Bigelow, pronounced for the "Washington Benevolent Society, 
that deserves to be perpetuated : " Thanks be to God, we still retain 
the right of expressing our opinions ! Nor will we ever surrender it. 
It is our inheritance. For let it be remembered that our ancestors, 
from the moment of their first landing on these shores, were always 
free ; that their resistance to Great Britain was not so much the 
efiect of actual sufiering, as of apprehension of approaching danger. 
It was not the resistance of slaves, but of those who were determined 
never to become such. It is proverbial, in our country, that Boston 
is the cradle of liberty. It is not so much her cradle as her asylum ; 
not so much her place of nurture as her citadel. If this were her 
birth-place, she must have been produced at once, as Minerva is said 
to have sprung forth from the brain of Jupiter, full-grown and com- 
plete in armor. Except a short exile at the commencement of the 
Revolution, this always was, and I trust always will be, her favorite 
abode." 

Col. Timothy, the father of Hon. Timothy Bigelow, married Anna 
Andrews, of Worcester, an orphan, July 7, 1762. He was an intrepid 
adherent of the cause of the Revolution ; and, after the battle of Lex- 
ington, with the assistance of General Warren, effected the removal 



TIMOTHY BIGELOW. 301 

of the printing-press and the materials of the printing-oflBce of the Mas- 
sachusetts Spy, a decided Wliig paper, conducted by Isaiah Thomas, 
founder of the American Antiquarian Society, incorporated in 1812. 
They were conveyed across Charles River to Lechmere Point, thence 
to Worcester, and deposited in the dwelling-house of Col. Bigelow, 
where the operations of this patriot paper were boldly executed. 
During the Revolution, many towns voted that they would have no 
slaves ; and it is related of Col. Bigelow, that, when solicited to make 
sale of a slave whom he owned, he replied that, "while fighting for 
liberty, he would never be guilty of selling slaves." Col. Bigelow, then 
a major, was captured in the attack on Quebec, when Montgomery 
was killed. In 1777 he became a colonel in the continental army, 
and assisted in the capture of Burgoyne. He was active at Saratoga, 
Valley Forge, and West Point. After the war, he was appointed to 
the command of the national arsenal at Springfield, and died JMarch 
31, 1790, aged 51. 

Hon. Timothy Bigelow, the second son of six children, was born at 
Worcester, April 30, 1767. His elementary education was at the 
public school of his native town ; but the perils of the war suspending 
school operations, he entered the ofiice of Thomas' Spy, where he was 
occupied during two years, in which period Benjamin Russell was also 
employed in the same office. In 1778 he became a pupil of Rev. 
Joseph Pope, of Spencer, and was finally prepared for college under 
the care of Hon. Samuel Dexter. He graduated at Harvard College 
in 1786, and on commencement day he took part in a forensic dispute, 
whether religious disputation promotes the interest of true piety. 
Mr. Bigelow engaged in the study of law, under the guidance of Levi 
Lincoln, senior, at Worcester. Previous to entering college, he first 
engaged in classical studies under the care of Benjamin, son of Gen. 
Benjamin Lincoln, of Hingham. Among his fellow-companions pre- 
paring for the bar, were Judge Edward Bangs, Joseph Dennie, the 
essayist, and Theophilus Wheeler. The insurrection of Shays occur- 
ring in 1786, these young patriots threw aside Blackstone and the dry 
study of law, and shouldered their muskets, and marched to Petersham 
as volunteers, to thwart the treasonable designs of the reckless rebels, 
who were soon defeated. In 1789 Mr. Bigelow entered on the prac- 
tice of law at Groton, in Massachusetts. In 1806 he removed to 
Medford, and practised law in Boston. He was of the State Legisla- 
ture during more than twenty years. He was Speaker of the House 
26 



302 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

during eleven years. He was a State Senator during four years, and 
of the Executive Council during two years. 

In the popular period of Freemasonry, INIr. Bigelow presided during 
two triennial terms at the head of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts ; 
and, in that capacity, with a splendid escort of craftsmen, in the year 
1808, made a journey to Portland, for the instalment of officers of the 
Grand Lodge of Maine. He was a member of the American Academy 
of Arts and Sciences, and vice-president of the American Antiquarian 
Society. He was an originator of the institution of Middlesex Hus- 
bandmen. His devoted taste for horticulture prompted him to adopt a 
tasteful plan of ornamental gardening around his mansion at Medford, 
which his social spirit made the seat of hospitahty, and where were 
exhibited domestic virtues rendering his society as desirable as his 
pubhc career was eminent. He was profoundly endowed with a knowl- 
edge of theology, and was so well versed in Greek and Hebrew as to 
easily read the Scriptures in the original languages. 

In a period of political excitement, when an anonymous writer in 
Dr. Park's Repertory was pouring out his political philippics, inflaming 
the whole State, ]Mr. Bigelow, having a great desire to know who he 
was, proceeded to the printing-office, where he remarked that he was 
somewhat famihar with case-work, and requested leave to try his 
hand ; on which, some manuscript copy was passed to him, when, 
seizing the composing-stick, he set up several lines, and immediately 
recognizing the hand-writing as that of the famous John Lowell, he 
quitted the office, rejoiced at the discovery. 

There are those hving who remember the eminent position sustained 
by Mr. Bigelow, both in law and politics. They have not forgotten 
the manly dignity which he sustained in presiding over the Legisla- 
ture of the State : nor of his remarkable memory, which enabled liim 
to call all the seven hundred members of that house by name, on the 
second day after they had assembled ; nor the unexampled influence 
which he exercised over that body during sessions of intense pohtical 
excitement. They may be able to repeat a few of his brilliant sayings 
and admirable repartees ; but this is all that can now be related of his 
•wit, which ever shone at the bar and in the halls of legislation, and 
enlivened the social banquet, for wliich he was not excelled by any of 
his associates, of whom Avere Strong, Gore, Dexter, and Otis. A few 
printed orations are all that inform the present day of the clear 
reason, strong logic, and fervid eloquence, which marked the advocate 



TIMOTHY BIGELOW, S03 

and the politician, and Avhich rendered his control over juries and 
popular gatherings almost unbounded. His exordium on the immor- 
tality of the soul, in his oration on Samuel Dana, is worthy of a divine. 
It should be stated, moreover^ that several of his speeches and reports 
are to be found in the papers of the day, and may still be read by men 
of taste with applause who embrace his political views, and with 
veneration by his opponents. Some of those who loved him best can 
declare how honorable was his legal and political course, and how 
scrupulous he was in observing the duties of religion. But these 
memorials are all that can be gathered of this eminent civilian ; and 
before many of these have faded away, a learned scion of the stock, 
the Rev. Dr. Bigelow, would perform a great public service by gath- 
ering memoirs and remains of his venerated father, embracing orations, 
political speeches, and legal arguments that ho has delivered, to be 
published in a permanent form. 

Mr. Bigelow was a ready speaker, and during a practice of thirty- 
two years he argued more cases than any one of the profession in New 
England. Possessing rare wit, as we have said, and force of argu- 
ment, with fluent narrative powers, his society was endeared to all that 
knew him. His figure was tall, and courtesy graced his manners. 
He was an ardent friend of the old Federal party. His oration for 
the Washington Benevolent Society is one of the best specimens of 
poHtical spirit in that burning period. He was an honored member 
of the greatly-defamed Hartford Convention. May our country ever 
have such men as Cabot, Otis, Bliss, Dane, Prescott, and Bigelow, — 
not forgetting Baylies, Thomas, Waldo, Lyman, Wilde, and Longfel- 
low ! The gathering of this venerable convocation was the principal 
means of hastening the peace with Great Britain, and the contest 
advanced the glory of the nation. 

Mr. Bigelow married Lucy, daughter of Judge Oliver Prescott, of 
Groton, September, 1791. His children were, Katharine, who mar- 
ried Hon. Abbott Lawrence, minister at the court of St. James. Rev. 
Dr. Andrew, formerly of Medford and Taunton, minister at large for 
Boston, and author of Leaves of a Journal in North Britain and 
Ireland, also Notes of Travels in Sicily and Malta; whose life of 
philanthropy will sweeten his last days. Hon. John Prescott, for- 
merly Secretary of State, of the Executive Council, and Mayor of 
Boston, elected in 1849. When at the festival in Faneuil Hall, on 
the centennial celebration of the settlement of Boston, September 17, 



304 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

1830, Mayor Bigelow gave the forthcoming sentiment: " The two 
most celebrated cradles in history, — the cradle of Hercules, and tliia 
old Cradle of Liberty : Both memorable for the energy of their infant 
occupants in resisting the emissaries of oppression." Edward, a 
brother beloved, who died in 1838 ; Francis, a merchant of Boston ; 
and two daughters, one of whom married Henry Stevens, Esq., a 
merchant of New York. Hon. Timothy Bigelow died in Medford, 
May 18, 1821. 



JOHN DAVIS. 



FEB. 19, 1800. EULOGY ON WASHINGTON. FOR THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 
OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 

Was born at Plymouth, Jan. 25, 1761. Graduated at Harvard Col- 
lege in 1781 ; and when he took his degree, his theme was a poem on 
" Commencement." He became teacher in the family of Gen. Joseph 
Otis, a brother of the patriot. He prepared for the bar under the 
direction of Benjamin, a son of General Benjamin Lincoln, and com- 
pleted under Oakes Angier, Esq., of Bridgewater. He married Ellen 
Watson, June 7, 1786, and was elected as a delegate to the convention 
on the adoption of the federal constitution in 1788, and last of the 
survivors. Was a senator for Plymouth county in 1795, and a 
Comptroller of the United States Treasury in 1795. Was appointed 
by Washington U. S. District Attorney for Massachusetts. Li 1801 
he was appointed by President Adams a judge of the U. S. District 
Court for this State. Was counsellor of the American Academy of 
Arts and Sciences, and member of that institution, and of the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society, from their foundation. Judge Davis was 
treasurer of Harvard University, member of the corporation and board 
of overseers of that college, and member of the N. E. Genealogical 
Historical Society. He was also a delegate to the Massachusetts 
convention on revising the State constitution, in 1820. He devised 
the city seal, with this inscription, adopted by Boston on its incorpora- 
tion, Feb. 23, 1822 : " As with our fathers, so may God be with us." 
Judge Davis resigned his station as district judge of U. S. Court, 



JOHN DAVIS. 305 

July, 1841, on which occasion he said to the court, "It is painful to 
employ the solemn word dissolved. Our official connection will cease ; 
but reciprocal esteem and good-will will, I trust, remain in continued 
exercise." Judge Davis was present at the festival in Faneuil Hall on 
the centennial celebration of the settlement of Boston, on which occasion 
he advanced the following sentiment, "History and poetry,— Black- 
stone's spring and the Pierian spring: 'To keep the Pilgrims' 
memory green,' Boston is satisfied." This occurred after the delivery 
of the oration by Quincy, and the poem by Sprague. 

Judo-e Davis was one of the most profound antiquarians in New 
England. His learned notes to Morton's New England Memorial have 
done more to incite research into the history of the Pilgrim Fathers than 
any other Avork. It created a new era in antiquarian lore ; and, had he 
possessed the active vigor of Camden of Old England, he would have 
been his rival in New England. 

On the occasion of a dinner party, at wliich Judge Story and others 
eminent in the legal profession were present, the conversation turned 
upon the comparative advantages of the different periods of life. 
Some preferred for enjoyment youth and manhood ; others ascribed 
more satisfactions to old age. When the opinion of Judge Davis was 
asked, he said, with his usual calm simplicity of manner, " In the 
warm season of the year, it is my delight to be in the country ; and, 
every pleasant evening while I am there, I love to sit at the window, 
and look upon some beautiful trees which grow near my house. The 
murmuring of the wind through the branches, the gentle play of the 
leaves, and the flickering of light upon them when the moon is up, fill 
me with indescribable pleasure. As the autumn comes on, I feel very 
sad to see these leaves falling, one by one ; but when they are all gone, 
I find that they were only a screen before my eyes ; for I experience 
a new and higher satisfaction, as I gaze through the naked branches at 
the glorious stars beyond." 

The following version of Judge Davis' sentiment on the autumn of 
life, is from the hand of Allen C. Spooner, Esq. : 

" Before my door, in summer's heat, 

Proudly the elms their branches spread ; 

Cool verdure sprang beneath my feet. 
And shadows played around my head ; 

Joyful I passed the sultry hours, 

And mocked the sun's meridian power. 

26* 



306 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

•' But -when, -with -withermg hand, the frost 
Shrivelled the leaves, and, gaunt and bare, 

Their naked arms the elm-trees tossed. 
While autumn tempests rent the air, 

I mourned the summer's glories fled, 

And cojjious tears of sadness shed. 

•' When winter came, and, cold and still. 

The ice-king forged his frozen chain, 
And over snow-clad vale and hill 

Midnight assumed her solemn reign. 
Forth-looking from my window-bars. 
Through the stripped limbs I saw the stars. 

" Thus earthly loves, like summer leaves. 

Gladden, but intercept our view ; 
But when bereft, the spirit grieves. 

And hopes are crushed, and comforts few. 
Lo ! in the depth of sorrow's night 
Beams forth from far celestial light. ' ' 

Judge Davis once said : "In the happy country which we inhabit, 
we find from its earliest history principles of polity and rules of conduct 
have prevailed that give it an honorable rank among the nations, and 
to which our unexampled growth and prosperity must, in a degree, be 
ascribed. In its infimt condition, a sober regard to the happiness of 
men, through the whole of their existence, distinguished its illustrious 
founders. Their scrupulous care to render satisfaction for a scanty por- 
tion of grain which the erratic savage had left buried in the sand mani- 
fests their delicate regard to justice. And when we follow a Winslow 
travelling through the wilderness to visit the sick sachem INTasassoit, 
we behold an amiable example of that mercy which droppeth as the 
gentle dew from heaven. 'Faithful to ourselves,' said the revered 
Washington, ' we have violated no obligations to others.' " In allu- 
sion to the spirit of American social polity, Judge Davis remarked, at 
another time, " Onward, ever onward, more majorum in the march 
of improvement and advancement of human happiness." 

How inexpressibly beautiful was his own estimation of old age ! 
Simplicity and truthfulness, says Dr. Francis, were essential elements 
of his whole being. No provocation could tempt him to be unjust to 
any person or subject. The evenness of his mind and the serenity of 
his spirit had a sedative effect on the ruffled feehngs of others. The 
very atmosphere of his presence was a restraint on impetuosity. He 
died Jan. 14, 1847. 



JOSEPH HALL. 307 

JOSEPH HALL. 

JULY 4, 1800. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Joseph Hall was born April 26, 1761, in Portland-street, Boston ; 
graduated at Harvard College in 1781 ; student at law with Col. 
Benjamin Hichborn, and married Anna Adams in 1787 ; be married 
a second time, Sarah, a daughter of Ellis Gray. On the evening of 
the march of the British regulars upon Lexington and Concord, he 
was despatched by his father to Roxbury, in order to convey intelli- 
gence to General Warren of the intended attack. His father had 
learned at that early period the purpose for which the troops were 
mustering, through a domestic in the family, who was intimate with 
one of the nurses employed in the military hospital near the family 
residence, in Portland-street. In 1786 Mr. Hall was an aid to Major 
General Brooks, in Shays' Insurrection. In 1788 he was a member 
of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He was a Boston 
representative. In 1818 he was appointed High Sheriff of Suffolk. 
In 1825 he succeeded Judge Dawes as judge of Suffolk Probate, 
which station he resigned in 1836. Judge Hall died April 15, 
1848. 

A prominent feature in the character of Judge Hall was a manly 
and decided honesty, which was exhibited in a striking incident. The 
treaty with Great Britain, conducted by John Jay, was, like the 
Mexican treaty of 1847, surreptitiously disclosed previous to its 
confirmation in the Senate. This treaty was at first violently con- 
tested. In Boston opposition to it was decided. On the 10 th of July, 
1795, a town-meeting was held at Boston, and, amid universal enthu- 
siasm, a vote was passed appointing a committee to report objections to 
the articles of the treaty, that the same may be returned to President 
Washington. This committee reported at an adjourned meeting, held 
July 13 ; and, according to the town records, this report was unani- 
mously accepted. The record is not strictly correct. One person 
had the firmness to oppose their measures, — and that man was Joseph 
Hall. The Rev. S. K. Lothrop, his last pastor, states that he 
received the facts from his own lips. Mr. Hall stood in the gallery at 
Faneuil Hall, and, before the question was put, addressed the audience. 
Being at this time a young man of popular character, and an energetic 



308 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

speaker, he readily gained listening ears; but the moment it -was 
perceived he intended to advocate the treaty, in opposition to their 
proposed measures, he was overwhelmed vnth groans and hisses. He 
persevered, however, in stating boldly his arguments for approving the 
treaty, and opposing the doings of the town. Mr. Hall concluded his 
speech by reprobating a proceeding which he said would have a tend- 
ency to unsenatorize the Senate. The citizens, excited already by the 
publication in the Chronicle, were frenzied by the inflammatory elo- 
quence of Dr. Jarvis, the unrivalled declaimer of the day, who 
instantly caught the expression. " The gentleman," exclaimed he, 
"would not unsenatorize the Senate : I will never consent to unpop- 
ularize the people." Old Faneuil Hall rang with applauding shouts, 
and the measure was adopted with acclamation. The public excite- 
ment was so strong that mobs paraded the streets of Boston, and in 
one of which was a riotous procession of watermelon lanterns, with the 
intention of burning John Jay in effigy. Several of the boys engaged 
in it declared, when they were taken into custody, that Mr, Benjamin 
Austin, Jr., had given them one shilling and sixpence each to effect 
this design ; and it was thus celebrated by a satirical poet : 

" To acts of bribery it belongs the prize, 
Let my bold fete of yesternight suffice, 
When half the school-boys in the town I paid, 
Our streets in mob-like phalanx to parade, 
A melon lanthorn on a pole display, 
And burn it for an efiBgy of Jay." 

In less than one year from that time, — on the 27th of April, 1796, 
— Mr. Hall had the satisfaction of witnessing another town-meeting, 
so densely crowded that it was necessary to adjourn from Faneuil Hall 
to the Old South Church, at which, chiefly through the influence of 
an eloquent speech delivered by Harrison Gray Otis, it was voted, 
almost unanimously, to address a memorial to Congress, urging that 
body to make the necessary appropriations to fulfil the stipulations of 
the treaty. The memorial was signed by thirteen hundred citizens of 
Boston. At this final meeting the rolling thunder of Jarvis was 
again heard ; but a new and bright planet blazed through the darkness, 
and dispelled the clouds. Harrison Gray Otis for the first time came 
before the people on a political question ; and they, to their admiration, 
discovered that the talent of popular eloquence was not a monopoly. 



JOSEPH HALL. 309 

Bishop Cheverus, afterwards a cardinal, in the rapture of his admira- 
tion, threw his arms around Otis, and while tears were streaming down 
his cheeks, exclaimed, "Future generations, young man, will rise up 
and call thee blessed ! " 

Dr. Charles Jarvis was one of the greatest orators that ever con- 
trolled the people in Faneuil Hall. He was both vehement and ardent ; 
and when he went over to the Jacobin party, the Boston political poet 
thus apostrophized, in the Federal Orrery of 1795, edited by Paine : 

" Much I regret from power thy forced retreat, 
By Ames out-voted, and by Woodward beat ; 
Was it for this, before the listening throng. 
You poured the patriot torrent of your tongue ? 

* * * * 

Then shall thy sons, oh goddess, never more 
From anti-Federal throats their voices pour. 
Your warmest friends will suifer fresh defeat. 
And Ames, your bitterest foe, retain his seat ; 
On our whole corps contempt and scandal fall, 
And universal ruin whelm us all. 

* * * * 

Yet to thyself, regretted Charles, return, — • 
Bid that warm heart with nobler passions burn ; 
With conscious pride those twining weeds disclaim, 
That kill the laurels of thy former fame." 

The candidate for Congress, in opposition to Fisher Ames, besides 
Samuel Adams, was Charles Jarvis, who, it is said, forsook the old 
Federal party, and became a leader of the Jefferson party, — an orator 
of tall, fine person, expression and voice ; fluent, accurate and grace- 
ful, in oratory ; with a head bald, and face rather large, beautifully 
shaped, an aquiline nose, small, piercing eyes, and remarkably express- 
ive countenance. He was characterized by Gardiner as the Bald 
Eagle of the Boston seat. 

Dr. Jarvis was accustomed to pause in his eloquence, when he had 
said something which he thought impressive, and to look round upon 
his audience for the effect ; and he never seemed to fail of success. It 
is said that, in early life, he was one of a party given to fox-hunt- 
ing and cock-fighting ; and, meeting a friend shortly previous to an 
evening lecture, who inquired if he should attend there, Jarvis 
replied that he did not know that he should be ready in season. On 
this, a game-cock, which he had concealed under his cloak, most lustily 



310 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

crowed, to the surprise of his friend, who was satisfied that his mind 
was unfitted for devotion at that time. 

He was ]x)rn in Boston in 1748, and married the sister of Sir Wilham 
Peppcrell ; was appointed by Jefferson surgeon to the Marine Hospital 
at Charlestown ; in 1788 was a delegate to the Massachusetts convention, 
and Avas of the State Legislature until 1796. Dr. Jarvis was elected 
president of the Society of Kepublican Citizens, gathered at the State- 
house July 4, 1803, on which occasion he gave this sentiment : " May 
the light of Heaven disappear, before the people of this country shall 
cease to be free. ' ' This was probably the first democratic society in Mas- 
sachusetts. He was of ready conception and acute penetration, highly 
popular, until his opinions on Jay's Treaty and the French Revolution 
left him in the minority. Dr. Jarvis, in the last days of his existence, 
when he had given up all hopes of life, remarked, with composure, 
that he should not die like a certain French philosopher, who boasted 
that he died without hope and without fear ; for, though he should die 
without fear, he should not die without hope. Benjamin Austin said 
of Charles Jarvis, that he was a Demosthenes in eloquence, a Cato in 
integrity, a How^ard in philanthropy, an(l a Sidney in patriotism. It 
is said of Jarvis in the poem " The Demos in Council " : 

" A fairer intellect, more active mind, 
Warped not from truth and government ; 
For bis tongue dropt manna, and could sometimes 
Make the worse appear the better reason. ' ' 



CHARLES PAINE. 

JULY 4, 1801. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Charles Paine was a son of Hon. Robert Treat Paine, and born 
at Taunton, Aug. 30, 1776 ; entered the Boston Latin School in 1782 ; 
graduated at Harvard College in 1793, when he engaged in a con- 
ference on the comparative advantages which have resulted to mankind 
from the mariner's compass, gunpowder, and the art of printing ; was 
a counsellor-at-law, a partner of Harrison Gray Otis, and married 
Sarah, a daughter of Brig. Gen. Charles Gushing, clerk of the Suffolk 



WILLIAM EMERSON. 311 

courts. He delivered an address for the Massachusetts Charitable 
Fire Society, in 1808. Mr. Paine was a young man of great powers 
of wit and force of character. Had he not died in early life, it is 
highly probable that he would have risen to eminence. He died in 
Boston, Feb. 15, 1810. 



WILLIAM EMERSON. 

JULY 4, 1802. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

"The dust of Zion," says Emerson, "was precious to the exiled 
Jew, and in her very stones and ruins he contemplated the resurrec- 
tion of her walls, and the augmented magnificence of her towers. A 
new glory, too, shall yet overspread our beloved constitution. The 
guardian God of America — he Avho heard the groans of her oppression, 
and led her hosts to victory and peace — has still an ear for her com- 
plaints, and an arm for her salvation. That confidence in his care 
which consists in steadfastness to his eternal statutes will dispel the 
clouds which darken her hemisphere. 

" Ye, therefore, to whom the welfare of your country is dear, unite in 
the preservation of the Christian, scientific, political, and miUtary insti- 
tutions of your fathers. This high tribute is due to those venerable 
sages who established this Columbian festival, to the surviving officers 
and soldiers of that army which secured your rights with the sword, and 
to the memory of their departed brethren. You owe it to the ashes of 
him who, whether considered as a man among men, or an hero among 
heroes, will command the love and admiration of every future age. 
Yes, immortal Washington ! amidst all the rancor of party and Avar of 
opinions, we will remember thy dying voice, which was raised against 
the madness of innovation : ' We will cherish a cordial, habitual, and 
immovable attachment to our national union, accustoming ourselves 
to think and speak of it as the palladium of our political safety and 
prosperity.' You owe it to his great successor, who has now carried 
into retirement the subhme and delightful consciousness of having been 
an everlasting benefactor to his country. Enjoy, illustrious man, both 
here and hereafter, the recompense of the wise and good ! And may 
the principles of free government which you have developed, and the 



312 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATOES. 

constitutions which you have defended, continue the pride of America, 
until the earth, palsied with age, shall shake the mountains from their 
bases, and empty her oceans into the immensity of space ! You owe 
it to the civil fathers of this commonwealth, and in particular to him 
who, thrice raised to its highest dignity, watches over its immunities 
with painful diligence, and governs it with unrivalled wisdom, modera- 
tion, and clemency. You owe it, in fine, Americans, to yourselves, to 
your posterity and to mankind." 

William Emerson was son of Rev. William Emerson, of Concord, 
Mass., who left his church in 1776 to serve as chaplain in the army at 
Ticonderoga; and was born at Concord, May, 1769; graduated at Har- 
vard College in 1789, when he engaged in a colloquy on the compara- 
tive value of riches, knowledge, and refinement of manners ; was 
installed as pastor of the church in Harvard, 1792, and installed as 
pastor of the First Church in Boston, in 1799. He was Phi Beta 
Kappa orator in 1789. In 1805 he was elected the first vice-presi- 
dent of the Literary Anthology Club, and was editor of the Monthly 
Anthology. It was on his motion, seconded by WiUiam Smith Shaw, 
the vote to establish a Hbrary of periodical publications was adopted by 
the society ; and this was the first step towards the estabhshment of the 
Boston Athcnoeum. Mr. Emerson prepared a history of the First 
Church in Boston, a work which will ever identify him with antiqua- 
rian research. He pubhshed several occasional discourses, and died 
May 11, 1811. 

He was a devoted student, and of chaste classical taste, both in com- 
position and rhetoric, and was a graceful and dignified speaker. The 
sweetness of his demeanor, being attended with general courtesy, was 
a ready passport to the heart. Though he had not the fervor that 
rouses the many, or the originahty to overpower the few, the elegance 
of his style, united to his natural equanimity and kindness of heart, 
gave him devoted admirers. He married Ruth Haskins, of Boston, 
Oct. 25, 1796. His son, Ralph Waldo Emerson, formerly pastor of 
the Second Church in Boston, is an ingenious writer, of peculiar fame. 



WILLIAM SULLIVAN. 313 

WILLIAM SULLIVAN. 

JULY 4, 1803. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

'' The evils which are said to menace our happiness," remarks Sul- 
hvan, " are attributed to the monarchical and aristocratical tendencies 
of our government on the one part, and to its democratical prepon- 
derance on the other. We are told that there are men among us who 
covet distinctions incompatible with the general welfare, — distinctions 
which will require the radiance of monarchy and the force of obedient 
legions to cherish and support them. The throne, it is said, must first 
be established, because it is the fountain of honor, whence is to flow the 
stream which is to render its partakers illustrious and noble. A throne 
could be established only by the will of the people, or by military 
power. Who will be mad enough to expect such a will amongst people 
who possess the best information, and to whom death and dependence 
have equal terrors 1 And whence do the plottings of turpitude, or the 
dreams of imbecility, pretend to gather that force which is to vanquish 
a people who have arms in their hands, and whose hearts are the 
dwellings of valor ? 

" It is often repeated, that aristocrats will raise the stonn of civil 
discord, and will direct its course to the accomplishment of their designs. 
Can it be seriously pretended that men, who must be allowed to have 
some understanchng, — men who must know something of the history 
of their species, — men to whom are secured, by the admired results 
of legislation, their patrimonial possessions and their fruits of industry, 
— men who enjoy all that hfe can give, — will court the bloodiest con- 
flicts, and hazard everything dear to them, to obtain an empty titular 
distinction 1- They who tell us that such distinctions are pursued seek 
to deceive us. They do not tell the truth. Well do they know that, 
with whatever materials and by whatever hands the fabric of nobility 
may be raised, it will rise only to M, and to crush its short-sighted 
founders. The informed and the opulent ask only that their country 
may be saved from the horrors of democracy. They want no other 
nobility than that which springs from the union of wisdom with good- 
ness ; a nobility whose orders are registered in heaven ; a nobility 
founded by the Author of the universe. 

" It is not from monarchy — it is not from aristocracy — that dangers 
27 



314 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

threaten ; but do they not threaten from democracy 7 In the affairs of 
men there is no test of truth but experience ; and experience proves that, 
whenever free governments have been lost, their loss is dated from the 
innovations of those who pronounce themselves patriots and friends of 
the people. Our republic is said to resemble that of Carthage more 
than any other of ancient times. Like us, its citizens cultivated let- 
ters, arms, and commerce. It flourished in remarkable splendor dur- 
ing five hundred years, and was that power which opposed the most 
formidable resistance to the dominion of Rome. The evils which arose 
from popular turbulence at length enabled the Romans to enumerate 
among their triumphs the total destruction of the Carthaginian people. 
Such was the debasement which preceded their last days, that they 
were reproached with having wept for the loss of their jewels, while 
the loss of their honor and of their liberties could not command a sigh." 

William Sullivan was the second son of Gov. James Sullivan, Avhose 
father, John, came from Ireland in 1730, as passenger in a ship which 
was driven by stress of weather into a port on the coast of Maine, and 
settled at BerAvick, then a town of Massachusetts. 

The subject of this sketch was born at Saco, in the District of Maine, 
Nov. 12, 1774; entered the Latin School in 1781, and was prepared 
for college under the instruction of Rev. Phillips Payson, D. D., of 
Chelsea, near Boston ; and graduated at Harvard College in 1792, at 
which time he took part in a conference on law, physic, and divinity. 
He engaged in the study of law under the direction of his fiither, was 
admitted to the Suffolk bar at the July term of the Court of Common 
Pleas, in 1795, and married Sarah Webb, a daughter of Col. James 
Swan, of Dorchester, Mass., May, 1802. He soon became an emi- 
nent counsellor. At this period, it was his habit to rise at four o'clock 
in the morning, and closely engage in study. He thus acquired that 
taste for intense application which led him gradually into such sedentary 
practice that shortened his days. In the year 1803 he pronounced the 
oration on our national independence ; and it is related that it effected 
such a strong impression, that it led to his election to the House of 
Representatives in 1804, and was afterwards elected to the Senate and 
Executive Council, until his withdrawal in 1830. In 1820 Mr. Sullivan 
was a delegate to the convention on the revision of the State constitu- 
tion, and was appointed by the convention to draft an address to the 
people, which accompanied the amendments, and was published Jan. 9, 
1821. He was major of the Independent Cadets, a member of the 



WILLIAM SULLIVAN. 315 

Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, and brigadier-general of the 
Boston militia. In 1812 Mr. Sullivan pronounced the first oration for 
the Washington Benevolent Society; a zealous political effort, in which, 
remarking of Washington, he says : "If, from the abode which his vir- 
tues have acquired to him, he can behold the concerns of men, — if the 
hearts of this assembly are open to him, — he sees that we have con- 
tinued to deserve his praise and benedictions ; " and, in 1814, he was 
elected president of this political institution, which was opposed to the 
war with Great Britain. In 1815 Gen. Sullivan, H. G. Otis, and 
Thomas H. Perkins, were appointed by the State Legislature as com- 
missioners to the government at Washington, to present the resolves of 
the State in relation to the contest with Great Britain. Gen. Sullivan 
was one of the committee of the towni of Boston who reported a city 
charter, and was the author of the sections on theatrical amusements, 
and of the bill providing for the establishment of a police court. He 
was elected to the city Council, on its institution, in 1822. He was 
president of the Social Law Library of Suffolk, originated by Hon. 
Judge Jackson; and in 1824 proposed the establishment of a His- 
torical Law Library. When Lafayette dined with the Phi Beta Kappa 
Society of Harvard College, August, 1824, Gen. Sullivan gave the 
sentiment herewith : " Minerva, Apollo, and the INIuses, who have done 
themselves so much honor this day in their homage to Mars." He 
was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, of the 
Massachusetts Historical Society, and of the Pennsylvania Historical 
Society. Gen. Sullivan was an elegant belles-lettres scholar, an accom- 
plished gentleman, remarkable for bland and affable manners, and per- 
suasive oratory. His eloquence at Faneuil Hall was truly captivating, 
but not of so masterly stamp as that of his compeer, Otis. Mr. Sul- 
livan once said, " A man may be a profound lawyer, yet no advocate ; 
but he cannot be an advocate without being a laAvyer : " and it maybe 
fairly said of him, that he united both qualities in himself; for his elo- 
quence at the bar and in political assemblies, and his sagacity as coun- 
sel, embodied as much effective power as did his rhetoric. What Justice 
Story remarked, in allusion to Samuel Dexter, may be with great pro- 
priety applied to William Sullivan, that no man was ever more exempt 
from finesse or cunning, in addressing a jury. He disdained the little 
arts of sophistry or popular appeal. It was in his judgment something 
more degrading than the sight of Achilles playing with a lady's distaff. 
Mr. Sullivan was about six feet in height, and wxll formed. He was 



316 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

dignified and moderate in his gait ; and rather reserved in manners, on 
the first approach, but very agreeable on acquaintance. His manners 
■were those of olden time, and would more deeply wound with a formal 
bow, than many men, less dignified, with a blow. He used to say that 
dignified civility, founded on self-respect, was a gentleman's weapon 
and defence. He delighted to have his family about him, and see them 
happy. His son says of him, in a biographical sketch prefixed to an 
edition of his '' Public Men of the Revolution," published since his 
decease: "Oftentimes he would steal an hour from his professional 
duties, to remain after dinner with his children at the table, where 
agreeable conversation, song and anecdote, softened the cold realities of 
life, and united more closely the natural ties of afiection which bound 
his circle together. He was attentive to the education of his daugh- 
ters, and many of his works were originally written with a particular 
view to their instruction." 

In order to illustrate the narrative powers of Gen. Sullivan, we cite 
a reminiscence of Gen. Knox, in which he was concerned, to Avhom we 
have frequently alluded. The son gives this relation, as near as he 
can remember, in Sullivan's own language. " Generals Knox, Lincoln 
and Jackson, had been companions in the Revolution ; had laughed, 
eaten and drank, fought and lived, together, and were on the most 
intimate terms. They loved each other to a degree but little known 
among men of the present day. After the struggle of the war, they 
retired to their homes, and were all comfortable in their worldly cir- 
cumstances, if not rich ; but Knox, possessing large tracts of land in 
the State of Maine, upon the rapid sales of which he confidently 
relied, imagined himself more wealthy than he was, and hvcd in luxu- 
rious style. He built himself a superb mansion at Thomaston, Me., 
where all his friends met with a cordial welcome, and enjoyed the most 
liberal hospitality. It was not an unusual thing for Knox to kill, in 
summer, when great numbers of friends visited him, an ox and twenty 
sheep on every ]\Ionday morning, and to make up an hundred beds 
daily in his own house. He kept, for his own use and that of his 
friends, twenty saddle-horses, and several pairs of carriages, in his sta- 
bles. This expensive style of living was too much for his means, as 
he was disappointed in the sale of his lands ; and he was forced to bor- 
row sums of money on the credit of his friends. Generals Lincoln and 
Jackson. He soon found himself involved to a large amount, and was 
obliged to acquaint liis friends of his embarrassments, into which he 



WILLIAM SULLIVAN. 317 

had unfortunately drawn them. Lincoln was at that time collector of 
the port of Boston, and occupied a house in State-street, now torn 
down, part of which ho used for the custom-house, and part he occu- 
pied as his dwelling. It was agreed that the three should meet there, 
and a full exposition of Knox's affairs be made known. I was applied 
to as counsel on the occasion, and was the first one who came at the 
time appointed. Jackson soon entered ; after him, Knox ; and almost 
immediately, Lincoln came in. They seated themselves in a semi- 
circle, whilst I took my place at the table, for the purpose of drawing 
up the necessary papers, and taking the notes of this melancholy dis- 
closure. These men had often met before, but never in a moment of 
such sorrow. Both Lincoln and Jackson knew and felt that Knox, the 
kindest heart in the world, had unwittingly involved them. They were 
all too full to speak, and maintained for some minutes a sorrowful 
silence. At last, as if moved by the same impulse, they raised their 
eyes. Their glances met, and Knox burst into tears. Soon, however, 
Lincoln rose, brushed the tear from his eye, and exclaimed, ' Gentle- 
men, this will never do ! We came hither to transact business ; let us 
attend to it.' This aroused the others, and Knox made a full dis- 
closure of his affairs. Although Lincoln and Jackson suffered severe 
losses, it never disturbed the feelings of friendship and intimacy which 
had existed between these generous-hearted men." 

We will introduce another reminiscence related by Gen. Sullivan. 
" Soon after the war had been declared, I chanced to be at Saratoga 
Springs, where I met with the Hon. Calvin Goddard, of Norwich, Ct., 
and with Hon. Jon. Dwight, of Springfield, Mass. Gov. Griswold, of 
Connecticut, was also at the hotel, but confined to his chamber. It 
was the habit of these gentlemen and myself to pay the governor a 
daily visit ; and, when he announced himself too ill to receive us, we 
strolled into the neighboring woods to talk over the state of the Union, 
respecting the welfare and durability of which we entertained serious and 
painful fears. On one of these occasions, it was concluded that a con- 
vention should be gathered at New York, during the following Septem- 
ber, at which as many States should be represented as could be induced 
to send delegates. The object of this convention was to determine 
upon the expediency of Madison's reelection, by running De Witt 
Chnton as the opposing candidate for the presidency. Goddard was 
intrusted with the State of Connecticut, Dwight with New York, and 
I Avas to awaken Massachusetts to the importance of this convention, 
27* 



318 THE IIUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Avhile all three were to assist in rousing the other States. The conven- 
tion met at New York, September, 1812 ; and eleven States were rep- 
resented by seventy delegates. The convention during two days had 
been unable to come to any determination ; and, on the third day, were 
about dissolving, without any fixed plan of operation. Hon. Rufus 
King had pronounced the most impassioned invective against Clin- 
ton, and was so excited, during his address, that his knees trembled 
under him. Governeur Morris doubted much the expediency of this 
measure, and was seconded in these doubts by Theo. Sedgwick, as well 
as by Judge Hopkinson. Many of the members were desirous of return- 
ing to Philadelphia by the steamboat, at two o'clock, p. M., of the third 
day. It was approaching the hour, and nothing had been determined, 
when ]\Ir. Otis arose, apparently much embarrassed, holding his hat in 
his hand, and seeming as if he were almost sorry he had arisen. Soon 
he warmed with the subject, his hat fell from his hand, and he poured 
forth a strain of eloquence that chained all present to their seats ; and 
when, at a late hour, the vote was taken, it was almost unanimously 
resolved to support Clinton. This effort was unprepared, but only 
proves how entirely Mr. Otis deserves the reputation he enjoys of 
being a great orator." 

]\Ir. Sullivan will ever deserve the gratitude of the public for his 
excellent moral and political productions. The Political Class-book 
entitles him to the reputation of having first introduced the study of 
the nature and principles of our government into the schools of our 
land ; and he was promptly followed by Judge Story and President 
Duer, with works of like nature. Such labors are indications of a 
return to the days of Socrates and Plato, of Cicero and Quintilian. 
The Moral Class-book, The Historical Class-book, Historical Causes 
and Effects, from the Fall of the Roman Empire. 476, to the Reforma- 
tion, 1517. He published a discourse, delivered for the Pilgrim Soci- 
ety, at Plymouth, 1829 ; a Discourse on Intemperance, 1832. In 1837 
he pubhshed a httle treatise on " Sea Life : or what may or may not 
be done, and what ought to be done, by Shipowners, Shipmasters, 
Mates, and Seamen." He published a highly antiquarian address to 
the members of the bar of Suffolk, Mass., March, 1824, giving a view 
of legal practice from the earliest date. 

During the last ten years of his life, IMr. Sullivan dechned profes- 
sional business, being only counsellor for a few institutions who were 
unwilling to lose the benefit of liis advice. His last days were devoted 



WILLIAM SULLIVAN. 319 

to studies purely moral and historical. He said to an intimate friend, 
who expressed extreme regret that he had retired from his profession : 
" I believe I mistook, in my selection of a profession, the course most 
favorable to my happiness ; for I have never been conscious of real 
enjoyment, or of the true bent of my talents, if I have any, until I 
devoted myself to literature." 

At the centennial celebration of Harvard College, Gen. Sulhvan, in 
concluding an eloquent speech, gave the sentiment: "May the 
educated conscientiously remember that they are the trustees of 
knowledge, for the use and benefit of those who have been less fortu- 
nate than themselves." 

An intimate friend of Sullivan remarked of him: "His manners 
among his friends and intimate associates were very delightful. He 
was not forgetful of himself, nor unaware of his talents for conversa- 
tion ; but his habitual kindness of heart and the natural nobleness of 
his character, gave him, in a very unusual measure, the power of call- 
ing out from his guests whatever there was in them which was most 
interesting ; and many a person has left his table with the feeling that, 
although he might elsewhere have seen men who talked more, he had 
never been himself so agreeable. Mr. Sullivan never forgot a friend, 
nor failed to requite, with ample interest, any kindness. He accord- 
ingly sought out, and was constantly entertaining at his table, or in 
the charming evening parties which he gathered in his parlors, persons 
from various parts of the country, whose only claim was some slight 
attention paid, perhaps many years before, to Mr. Sullivan, or some 
of his friends." He possessed extreme pride of character, and never 
deviated from a certain course of conduct and demeanor, which secured 
to him the esteem of friends, and the respect of all who came in contact 
with him, both in public and in private hfe. His style of writing was 
simple and clear, full of anecdote, and often conversational. As an 
author, he shone like a brilliant star. His style was smooth, chaste 
and classical. His Public Men of the Revolution is almost inimitable 
for its images of real character. He was a Federalist of the Washing- 
ton school, and tenaciously opposed to the policy of Jefferson ; and his 
own principles are clearly developed in this work. 



320 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

THOMAS DANFORTH. 

JULY 4, 1804. FOR THE TOAYN AUTHORITIES. 

The Monthly Anthology states of this production, that its politi- 
cal sentiments are dignified, and evince that the author glows with a 
patriotic zeal for the honor and happiness of his country. We take 
this opportunity to remark that it was pronounced in a superior style 
of elocution. To the clear and commanding tone of voice, the animated 
expression, and elegant gesture, of the orator, combined with the just- 
ness of the sentiment and its unison with the feehngs of the audience, 
must we attribute the enthusiasm with which it was received. He 
unfolds the dangers to which our country is exposed from mere fac- 
tion and party rage, those avenging angels, dehghting in the calamity 
of republics. 

" In all governments there must be a preponderating influence, — a 
sovereign power, — doubtless deriving its origin from the people, but 
guaranteed by fundamental laws, in order that the liberty of all may 
not be the sport of the licentiousness of any. There never has, and 
there never will exist a true democracy. If, says the elegant author 
of the social compact, ' there were a people of gods, they might be gov- 
erned democratically ; a state so perfect will never belong to man.' 
In our own government, so happily blended and equipoised the powers 
of state, that, though sovereignty exists, it may be said never to remain 
fixed, but, hke the vibrations of the pendulum, gives to every part and 
portion its uniform spring and action. The federal compact is not 
merely the sketch of liberty ; it is the work complete ; it is the only 
government under heaven yet known where every man may be said to 
exercise his right in the aggregate system of power. Founded in reason 
and the analogy of nature, like the fair form of the human body, it 
exhibits the beauty, strength and proportions, of a well-ordered system. 
The executive is its brain, the judiciary its lungs, and the legislative 
its whole heart, circulating the very pabulum of its existence, and 
issuing the powers which warm and invigorate its remotest extremities. 
As essential to the existence of our bodies as are the brain, lungs or 
heart, equally as essential are the distinct and independent branches 
of our government to its life and preservation. Drawn out of the 
experience of ages, it contains the principles of a republic, subhmely 
rectified. It is the palladium of your future peace, — a bond of union 



WARREN BUTTON. 321 

and obligation, which, when violated, will convulse to its centre the 
delicate frame of your liberty." 

Thomas Danforth, the son of the eminent Dr. Samuel Danforth, 
was born in Boston, July 31, 1772 ; entered the Latin School in 
1781 ; graduated at Harvard College in 1792, when he engaged in a 
conference on the comparative importance of the American, French, 
and Polish revolutions, upon mankind; married Elizabeth, daughter 
of Jarathmiel Blowers, of Somerset, Mass., March, 1800 ; was a 
physician ; and died in Dorchester, July 12, 1817. 

Dr. Danforth delivered a discourse for the Massachusetts Humane 
Society, in 1808, which was pubhshed. 



WARREN DUTTON. 

JULY 4, 1805. FOR THE TOAVN AUTHORITIES. 

While Russell's Centinel remarks of Diitton's oration that it was a 
spirited and well-adapted production, the Independent Chronicle says, 
that, had Pitt deputed missionaries to this rescued nation, to debauch 
the public mind from the fan* knowledge of political truth, they could 
not, in our feeble judgment, have used language more fitted for such 
purposes. But, as the governor (Strong) sat and heard these declam- 
atory arts without evincing displeasure at their apparent disloyalty, 
we must resign our opinion to the more correct authority of the public. 

Mr. Button was born at Lebanon, Connecticut, and married Eliza, 
daughter of Judge Lowell ; was a counsellor-at-law, and the first editor 
of the New England Palladium ; a delegate to the State convention 
for revising the constitution, in 1820 ; a representative in the State 
Legislature, and of the State Senate. In 1800 Mr. Dutton gave the 
poem at the commencement at Yale College, on the Present State of 
Literature ; and an address to the Suffolk Bar, in 1819. 



THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 



EBENEZER FRENCH. 

JULY 4, 1S05. FOR THE YOUNG DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICANS, AT THE 
CHURCH OF REV. JOHN MURRAY. 

Ebenezer French was born in Boston, and was a practical printer. 
The oration at the head of this article, and another, delivered at Port- 
land, in 1806, on our national independence, were pubhshed, and are in 
the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Mr. French 
was in early life married to Mrs. Hannah Grice, the widow of Samuel 
Bangs, of Boston, after having been previously engaged to her beau- 
tiful daughter. A rare incident here in romance, — the mother stole 
from the daughter the heart of her young lover ! After the delivery 
of the oration in Boston, the young RepubHcans proceeded to Faneuil 
Hall, where, on partaking a rich repast, the following sentiment was 
advanced by Benjamin Austin, the great apostle of democracy, who 
was elected president of the Society of Repubhcan Young Men at this 
time: "The young Republican orator of the day : May our young 
men never lose, by the subtlety of their enemies, those blessings trans- 
mitted to them by their Republican ancestors." Mr. Austin viewed 
the people and the constitution of the United States as the real senti- 
nels and palladiums of American independence. 

Mr. French was an inspector of the customs in 1810, and in the 
next year he became a publisher of the Boston Patriot, in company 
with Isaac Munroe ; where they continued until 1814, when they sold 
the paper to Mr. Ballard, and both removed to Baltimore, where they 
established a new journal, under the name of the Baltimore Patriot, a 
paper of wide political influence. 



FRANCIS DANA CHANNING. 

JULY 4, 180G. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

This oration was not printed. Mr. Channing was born at Newport, 
R. I.J and brother of Rev. William EUery Channing. He gi-aduated 



JOSEPH GLEASON. — PETER OXENBRIDGE THACHER. 323 

at Harvard College in 1794, on which occasion he gave the salutatory 
oration in Latin. In 1801 he pronounced the Phi Beta Kappa ora- 
tion, and married Susan Higginson, of Boston, November, 1806. He 
was a counsellor-at-law, a State representative, and Secretary of the 
Boston Social Law Library in 1810. He died at sea, when on his 
passage to Rio Janeiro, November 5, 1810. 



JOSEPH GLEASON. 

JULY 4, 180G. FOR THE DEMOCRATIC YOUNG MEN. 

Joseph Gleason was born at Boston, and the son of a truckman, 
who was a ready speaker at Faneuil Hall caucuses. He married 
Mary Le Baron, daughter of Gov. Hunt, of Detroit ; and was a com- 
positor in the office of the Independent Chronicle, and only eighteen 
years of age, on the delivery of this oration, which was printed a 
second time. In the last war with Great Britain he was a captain in 
Col. Miller's regiment, and in 1816 an army commissary, and major 
of a brigade. He died at Mackinaw, in 1820. 



PETER OXENBRIDGE THACHER. 

JULY 4, 1807. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Was born at Maiden, Dec. 22, 1776, and son of Rev. Peter, who 
pronounced an oration on the Boston IMassacre in that year. He 
entered the Latin School in 1785, and graduated at Harvard College 
in 1796, on which occasion Mr. Thacher engaged in a forensic dispu- 
tation — Whether reason unassisted by revelation would have led man- 
kind to just notions even of the first principles of natural religion ? 



324 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS, 

He studied law under Governor Sullivan, and was three years a teacher 
in Exeter Academy. 

Mv. Thacher visited Savannah, Ga., Nov. 2, 1802, in company 
with his father, Ilev. Peter Thacher, for the purpose of relief in pul- 
monary consumption, where they arrived Dec. 3 of that date, and his 
father expired on the 16th of that month. Mr. Thacher recorded an 
account of the voyage from Boston, and of the last hours of his father. 
One incident is related, for the reason that it illustrates the influence 
and shows the importance of early religious culture. On laying down 
for the last time, in the early part of the evening, a few hours before 
his death, he repeated the nursery prayer : 

" Now I lay me down to sleep, 
I pray the Lord my soul to keep ; 
If I should die before I wake, 
I pray the Lord my soul to take ; " 

and, turning to his son, said, "My son, this little prayer I have not 
omitted to repeat, on going to bed, for forty years. This may be the 
last time ; I charge you never to omit it." 

In 1805 Mr. Thacher pronounced the oration for the Phi Beta 
Kappa Society. He became a counsellor-at-law, and married Charlotte 
I., daughter of Thomas MacDonough, a British consul. He was 
Town Advocate for Boston in 1807, and was judge of the Municipal 
Court for Sufiblk from 1823 to the year 1843. He was a member of 
the Literary Anthology Club, on its institution, in 1805; and a 
director of the Boston Athenaeum, on its institution, in 1807. 

Judge Thacher was endowed with great integrity, and firm decision 
of character, and often stigmatized as a very severe judge; but he was 
not more rigid than just. He was peculiarly qualified for the period 
and station, and wisely efiected more in the restraint of crime among 
us than any other man on the bench. He was compelled to deal 
with the worst passions of men, says the Law Reporter, but there is 
no act of his life which has left any stain on his character. 

The Criminal Cases of Judge Thacher, edited by Woodman, in 
1845, is a standard text-book for the bar and the bench. Several of 
his charges were published, and a copy of them is in the library of the 
Historical Society. In 1833 the Trial of Ebenezer Clouo-h, for 
Embracery, was published, with the arguments of Thacher on the 



ANDREW RITCHIE, JR. — CHARLES PINCKNEY SUMNER. 325 

ANDREW RITCHIE, JR. 

JULY 4, 1808. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Andrew Ritchie was born in Boston, and graduated at Harvard 
College in 1802, when lie gave an oration on " Innovation." He 
read law with Rufus G. Amory, and married a daughter of Cornelius 
Durant, a West India planter. He married a second time, Sophia 
Harrison, a daughter of the Hon. H. G. Otis, and settled on his plant- 
ation in St. Croix. He was early a counsellor-at-law in Boston, of 
which town he was a representative in 1816. 

In 1805 Mr. Ritchie gave an oration on the Ancient and Blodern 
Eloquence of Poetry ; and in 1818 an address for the Massachusetts 
Peace Society. He was a tasteful and effective writer, and says, in 
the oration at the head of this article : "We are not required, like 
young Hannibal, to approach the altar and vow eternal hatred to a 
rival nation ; but we will repair to the neighboring heights, at once the 
tombs and everlasting monuments of our heroes, and swear that, as 
they did, so would we, rather sacrifice our lives than our country." 



CHARLES PINCKNEY SUMNER. 

JULY 4, ISOS. BEFORE THE YOUNG REPUBLICANS OF BOSTON. 

Born at Milton, Jan 20, 1776; graduated at Harvard College, 
1796. He was the only child of Maj. Job Sumner, of the continental 
army in the Revolution, whose ancestry may be traced to 1637. His 
father was a native of Milton. He entered Harvard College in 1774 ; 
but when, after the Battle of Lexington, the students were dispersed, 
and the college edifice converted into barracks, he joined the army, in 
which he continued until the peace. He was second in command of 
the American troops who took possession of New York, on its evacua- 
tion by the British, Nov. 25, 1783 ; and was also second in command 
of the battalion of light infantry which rendered to Gen. Washington 
28 



826 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

the last military respects of the Revolutionary army, when, in Dec. 4, 
1783, at Francis' Tavcm, New York city, he took leave of his brother 
officers and conu-ades in arms in terms of warm affection. 

After the close of the war, Maj. Sumner was appointed commis- 
sioner to settle the accounts between the United States and Georgia ; 
and in this capacity, for several successive winters, visited that State. 
On the .voyage, upon his return from one of these visits, he was taken 
ill, after eating of a dolphin caught off the copper banks of Cape Ilat- 
teras ; and, though his vessel made a rapid passage to New York, and 
he landed without delay, he died on the day after his arrival, Sept. 
16,1789. He was buried with distinguished military honors. Among 
the pall-bearers at his funeral was Alexander Hamilton. His remains 
were interred near the middle of St. Paul's church-yard, in New York ; 
and, about one month afterwards, Maj. Lucas, of Georgia, was buried 
by his side. One monumental stone covers them both, with an appro- 
priate inscription over the body of each. That over Maj. Sumner 
is as follows : " This tomb contains the remains of Maj. Job Sumner, 
of the Massachusetts line of the army of the Revolution ; who, having 
supported an unblemished character through life, as the soldier, citizen 
and friend, died in this city, after a short illness, universally regretted 
by his acquaintance, on the 16th day of September, 1789, aged 33 
[35] years." 

At the time of Maj. Sumner's decease, his son was a student at 
Andover Academy, under Mr. Pemberton, Avhere he was prepared for 
college. He entered Harvard College in 1792, and received the degree 
of Bachelor of Arts in 1796. Among his classmates with whom he 
was on terms of friendship was John Pickering, the eminent Greek 
lexicographer, James Jackson, the head of the medical profession in 
Boston, Leonard Woods, of Andover, the profound divine. With the 
latter Mr. Sumner was ever on terms of affectionate intimacy. While 
in college he developed poetical talents which were then highly favored. 
He delivered a "Valedictory Poem" before the Speaking Club, when 
his classmates left that society at the end of the junior year; also, at 
one of the college exhibitions, a poem entitled " The Compass," which 
was much admired, and was shortly afterwards printed in a pamphlet. 
There is now in the possession of his family a copy of Shakspeare 
and Young's Night Thoughts, inscribed in each as follows, in the beau- 
tiful and distinct handwriting of the Rev. Dr. Jenks, a fellow-student 
and friend of Mr. Sumner, though two years after him in college : 



CHARLES PINCKNEY SUMNER. 327 

"These volumes are presented to C. P. Summer, by several members 
of Harvard University, Avbo are desirous of expressing their ackno^Yl- 
edgments for the pleasure afforded by his poem entitled ' The Com- 
pass,' and for the honor which it confers upon the literary character 
of the University." The same poem prompted from another friend, 
Joseph Story, afterwards the illustrious judge, a few poetical lines, 
expressive of warm approval of the production, and lively anticipa- 
tion of his future success. We here transcribe the apostrophe from 
the autograph of Justice Story, very neatly inscribed on the back of 
the title-page of a printed copy of this poem, in the possession of 
Charles Sumner, our Senator to Congress, which may be viewed as a 
valuable part of his 'patrimony : 

" TO THE AUTHOR. 

" Sure some celestial Muse thy pen inspired. 
With noblest thoughts thy glowing bosom fired, 
To trace, with magic art, the varied line. 
And to Pope's smoothness Milton's grandeur join. 
Sumner, thy worth Columbia's sons shall own. 
Long as the magnet's mighty power is known ; 
Enraptured seraphs shall thy praise rehearse, 
And Fame with laurels consecrate thy verse ; 
Genius shall place her crown upon thy head, 
And future bards revere the poet dead. 

"J. S. /wne, 1796." 

We cull a passage from " The Compass : " 

" May weeping man the era never see, 
When as is Carthage shall Columbia be ; 
When glorious works of art shall mouldering lie. 
And threatening ruins hold the distant eye ; 
Statues of Washington shall sink in dust. 
His name unrescued from oppressive rust ; 
Adams shall sleep unhonored mid the dead. 
And Hancock's broken column scarce be read." 

On commencement-day, when he took his degree, Mr. Sumner deliv- 
ered a poem on "Time." He also pronounced the valedictory poem 
before his classmates, when they completed their studies. The verses 
herewith, from the valedictory, in apt words picture the kindred friend- 
ship among liis fellow-classmates : 

" From this loved spot to festal-board we go, 
And give the cordial hand to friend and foe ; 



328 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

One firm alliance, one enduring peace, 
From ttiis time forth, shall never cease ; 
Each shall to each a cheering wish extend, 
And live through life befriended and a friend." 

All his productions at this early period, as through hfe, indicate a 
philanthropic spirit. The happiness of mankind was his controlhng 
passion. Shortly after he left college an incident occurred expressive 
of this character. He passed a winter in the AVest Indies. The ves- 
sel in which he was a passenger happened to stop at the Island of Hayti, 
which was then rejoicing in its independence ; and the officers and pas- 
sengers, with other American citizens there, were invited to a public 
entertainment on the anniversary of the birth-day of Washington, at 
which Gen. Boyer, afterwards president of that republic, presided. Mr. 
Sumner, when called upon for a toast, gave the following : " Liberty,, 
Equality and Happiness, to all men;" which so much pleased Boyer, 
that he sent one of his aids-de-camp to invite the young American to 
take the scat of honor by his side at the feast. 

Mr. Sumner was early associated, as a private teacher, under the 
Rev. Henry Ware, pastor of the first church inHingham, and Professor 
of Divinity in Harvard College, 1805, towards whom he ever sus- 
tained relations of friendship. He shortly made a visit to Georgia, 
partly to settle the estate of his father, and journeyed home by land 
through the Southern States. On his return, he devoted himself to 
the study of the law, in the office of Hon. George Richards Minot ; 
and, on the decease of that ornament of Suffolk bar, he finished his 
initiation under the guidance of Hon. Josiah Quincy, with whom, 
though differing in politics, he always sustained the relations of warm 
regard. In 1798 Mr. Sumner delivered the poem before the Phi Beta 
Kappa of Harvard College, and the oration on this occasion was deliv- 
ered by Rev. John T. Kirkland. On Feb. 22, 1800, Mr. Sumner 
delivered at ]\Iilton a eulogy on Washington, which was published at 
Dedham, and was afterwards embodied in the octavo volume entitled 
"Eulogies and Orations on Washington," as being one of the best 
pronounced on the vhtues of that illustrious father of the Union. 

About the year 1805, when pohtical excitement was warm, William 
Austin, of the Democratic party, author of Letters from London, in 
consequence of political differences with Gen. Simon Elliott, in 
the Chronicle, over " Decius," was challenged by James H., son 
of the general. Mr. Sumner was the second for Mr. Austin, 



CHARLES PINCKNEY SUMNEK. 329 

and the field of combat was in Rhode Island. One of the parties, Mr, 
Austin, was slightly wounded by a pistol-shot. Mr. Sumner deeply 
regretted having taken a part in this conflict, and the subject was 
unknown to his children until after his decease. 

Blr. Sumner early attached himself to the Democratic party. He 
was a constant and tenacious advocate of the administration of Jeffer- 
son. His name appears on important local committees during this 
period. He wrote in the Republican newspapers, and took part in pub- 
lic meetings. He delivered a public address on the second inaugura- 
tion of Thomas Jefferson, and also an oration on the 4th of July, 1808, 
as named at the head of this article. It was published in a newspaper 
of the period. We find in this production a passage as well adapted to 
the present political excitement as it was to the fever of embargo and 
non-intercourse, forty-two years ago : " There is, indeed, no diversity 
of interest between the people of the north and the people of the south ; 
and they are no friends to either Avho endeavor to stimulate and embit- 
ter the one against the other. What if the sons of Massachusetts 
rank high on the roll of Revolutionary fame ? The wisdom and hero- 
ism for which they have been distinguished will never permit them to 
indulge an inglorious boast. The independence and liberty we possess 
are 'the result of joint counsels and joint efforts, — of common dan- 
gers, sufferings and successes ; ' and God forbid that those who have 
every motive of sympathy and interest to act in concert should ever 
become the prey of party bickerings among themselves." 

For several years during the period of 1806, and excepting one year, 
until 1813, Mr. Sumner was clerk of the House of Representatives, 
when Perez Morton and Joseph Story were speakers, and Marcus 
Morton, afterwards governor, was clerk of the Senate. In 1810 Mr. 
Sumner was a lieutenant in the Boston regiment, and his punctilious 
observance of military etiquette is in the memory of old men among 
us. Mr. Sumner did not long actively engage in political matters. 
The care of a large family occupied much of his time. He was mar- 
ried, April 25, 1810, to Miss Relief Jacob, of a respectable family, in 
Hanover, Plymouth county, and had nine children ; of these, only five 
survive. Mrs. Sumner has been a lovely, devoted mother, who has 
largely contributed to the formation of their character. Mr. Sumner 
was a well-read lawyer, and faithful in all that he undertook. He was 
peculiarly fortunate in the intimate regard of the members of the bar, 
38* 



330 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

and especially that of Chief Justice Parker ; but he never engaged in 
extensive practice. 

In 1825 Mr. Sumner was appointed by Gov. Lincoln to the elevated 
station of sheriff of the county of Suffolk. This office he retained, by 
successive appointments, down to the time of his decease, in April 24, 
1839. Perhaps no incumbent has ever filled that office in this county 
who made its duties the subject of more careful study. He explored 
the history and origin of the office in the English law, and its intro- 
duction into ISIassachusetts. Peculiar evidence of this appears in the 
discourse which he dehvered before the court and bar, in the court- 
house, Boston, June, 1829, on some points of difference between the 
sheriff's office in Massachusetts and in England. This was published 
in the American Jurist for July, 1829, vol. 2. It was also published 
in a pamphlet. It is a valuable production, both in a historical and 
judicial point. It concludes with personal sketches of his predecessors 
in office. He relates of Jeremiah Allen, the earliest sheriff whom he 
ever saw. that he Avas a rich and a moral old bachelor, of whom it was 
once jocularly said, in his presence and hearing, that " the sheriff knew 
very well how to arrest men and to attach women ; " a piece of humor 
well intended and well received, and 

" Praise enough 
To fill the ambition of a private man." 

Mr. Sumner, through life, was remarkable for his strict and most 
conscientious integrity. More than one person remarked of him, that 
he would trust his whole fortune to him, without bond or security of 
any kind. He felt keenly the responsibilities of his office ; and, at 
times, to such a degree, that he talked of resigning, that he might be 
relieved from their anxieties. He always preserved his interest in lit- 
erature, especially in history and poetry ; and, in advanced life, he 
joined in the classical studies of his children. Though at times aus- 
tere and reserved, his general manners were simple, easy, flowing, and 
affable. He has been characterized as "the best-mannered man in 
Boston ; " and, to show how near his heart was such a habit, we will 
cite the sentiment given in Faneuil Hall, August, 1827, at the festival 
after the annual exhibition of the public schools : " Good learning and 
good manners : Two good companions. Happy when they meet, they 
ought never to part." Sheriff Sumner was small of stature, an ema- 
ciated, attenuated figure, and a remarkable contrast to Samuel Badlam, 



CHARLES PINCKNEY SUMNER. 331 

the jailer of Suffolk, the most rotund, ponderous man in Boston, and 
the Lambert of New England. 

There are several occasional poems of his which are still preserved, 
particularly odes and songs for charitable and political festivals. Among 
his publications was a letter in reply to one from the Anti-masonic com- 
mittee for the county of Suffolk, dated Oct. 19, 1829, in which he 
exposed, in temperate language, the character and pretensions of the 
Masonic institution. This was published in a pamphlet, and exten- 
sively circulated. It is a document marked by great gentleness and 
forbearance, and some refinement of taste. A published collection of 
his fugitive pieces would be a memorial of his patriotic spirit. 

In giving toasts at public festivals, he was often called upon, and 
not unfrequently expressed himself in verse. Some of these are very 
felicitous. The Hon. Josiah Quincy, our model mayor, in calling upon 
him once, gave as a toast : "The Sheriff of Suffolk : The only sheriff, 
except Walter Scott, born on Parnassus." The following toasts, given 
July 4, 1826, might well vindicate this comphment : "The United 
States : One and indivisible. 

" Firm like the oak may oui- blest Union rise. 
No less distinguished for its strength and size ; 
The unequal branches emulous unite 
To shield and grace the trunk's majestic height ; 
Through long succeeding years and centuries live, 
No vigor losing from the aid they give." 

We cite another toast, given July 4, 1828, which gives a just tribute 
to agriculture, and a skilful compliment to Gov. Lincoln, who, hke Cin- 
cinnatus, though at the head of the commonwealth, was a practical 
farmer : " Agriculture : 

" In China's realms, from earliest days till now, 
The well-loved emperor annual holds the plough ; 
Here, too, our worthiest candidates for fame. 
With unsoiled honor, sometimes do the same. 
Upholding such, our yeomen's generous hearts 
Show a just reverence to the first of arts. ' ' 

In the latter days of his life he rarely voted, and was reluctant 
to be called of any particular party; but he always remembered, 
with satisfaction, his early connection with the old Kepublican party, 
and with many of the leaders of the old Federal party he was on 



332 THE HUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

friendly terms. He was invited to be the Anti-masonic candidate for 
Governor of the State, which he dechned. He was also urged to be a 
candidate for the mayoralty of Boston, at the time when Quincy finally 
lost his election. But he resolutely declined, preferring the ofiice he 
held ; but adding, with expressive warmth, that he could never consent 
to be a candidate against his early friend. 

His memory will be venerated, in his descendants, long as elo- 
quence, literature, science and purity, are recognized in sons such as 
Charles, George and Horace Sumner, the second of whom is widely 
known as a traveller, and by the accuracy and extent of his attain- 
ments. He was born Feb. 5, 1817. He was educated in the Boston 
High School ; visited Europe in 1838, and has remained there to this 
period. AVhile in Russia he enjoyed the peculiar favor of the Empe- 
ror Nicholas, and has travelled some time as his guest. Nicholas 
reposed more confidence in him, for information on this country, than 
on any other American. He made a voyage round the Black Sea. 
with the Russian fleet, and also an excursion to the Caucasus. Here 
he visited and made observations on mud volcanoes, not described before 
since Marco Polo ; visited Constantinople, Syria, the Holy Land, 
Egypt, and Greece. In the latter country he wrote an elaborate letter 
on its condition, which was published in the Democratic Review. He 
then passed a year in Italy, Sicily, — ascending Mount ^tna, — and 
next visited Germany, Hungary, Holland, Belgium, and France. At 
Leyden he made curious investigations into the history of the Pilgrim 
Fathers, especially of John Robinson, published in the Collections of 
the Massachusetts Historical Society. He then proceeded to England, 
and from thence to Spain, where he passed a year. Since his return 
from Spain, he has resided in Paris, with an occasional visit to England 
and Germany. In all these countries he has become personally 
acquainted with those who are most eminent in science, literature, and 
pohtics. In Hungary, several years before its unsuccessful attempts 
at revolution, he formed a personal acquaintance with Kossuth. He 
has for years enjoyed an intimacy with the great Humboldt, who has 
expressed a great interest in his conversation and opinions. He was 
familiarly acquainted with Lamartine and De Tocqueville, in France. 
The latter, in a recent letter to Gen. Cavaignac, has characterized him 
as follows: "Mr. Sumner is a man of superior intelligence, very 
accomplished, perfectly familiar with all European afiairs, and knowing 



WILLIAM TUDOK. 



the different parties and politics of Europe much better than any 
European." He is a member of several learned societies of Europe. 

The youngest son of Mr. Sumner, Horace, born Dec. 25, 1824, 
and educated in the Boston High School, perished in the wreck of the 
ship Elizabeth, on Fire Island, near New York city, July 18, 1850. 
He was an invalid, returning from a year in Italy, whither he had 
been in pursuit of health. Among his companions in misfortune was 
the Marchioness Fuller Ossoli, her husband and child ; but her lofty 
intellectual character did not excite a stronger interest than the 
moral excellences of young Sumner. This lady was the daughter of 
Hon. Timothy Fuller, whom we have sketched as an orator for July, 
1831. The Christian Register for July 27, 1850, states that '-In 
the same ship was a young man of the most pure, unambitious, loving 
and gentle life, whose quiet virtues had singularly endeared him to the 
few who knew him, and whose death at any time could only be 
regarded as a blessed dispensation to him, however severe it might be 
to his friends." Horace Sumner, says the Register, was retiring in 
his habits and tastes, but his memory will long be cherished by his 
friends with peculiar interest and affection. 



WILLIAM TUDOR. 

JULY 4, 1809. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Was born in Boston, Jan. 28, 1779, and was the son of Hon. Judge 
Tudor ; was educated at Phillips' Academy, Andover ; and graduated 
at Harvard College in 1796, at which time he engaged in a dialogue 
on the Advantages of Public Education. Having an ambition for 
mercantile pursuits, he entered the counting-room of John Codman, 
an eminent merchant, who early sent him to Paris as his confidential 
agent; and, after his return to Boston, he sailed for Leghorn, and 
made the tour of Europe, cultivating his natural taste for literature 
and literary men wherever he went. In 1805 he was one of the 
founders of the Literary Anthology Club, the most delightful literary 
and social institution ever formed in Boston : and in November of this 



334 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

year embarked for the "West Indies, in company -with James Savage, 
for the purpose of establishing a new object of commerce, by the trans- 
portation of ice to tropical climates, and the erection of ice-houses as 
places of deposit. He founded the traffic, as agent of Frederic Tudor, 
his brother, to his entire approbation. He was a State representative 
for Boston; and clerk of Suffolk County Courts, in 1816, and a 
counsellor-at-law. In 1810 he published a Phi Beta Kappa oration, 
the delivery of which was prevented by his departure for Europe, 
when he became agent for Stephen Higginson, Esq., in an endeavor 
to introduce large quantities of English manufactures into the conti- 
nent of Europe, contrary to the hostile decrees of Napoleon against the 
rights of neutrals. 

In 1815 Mr. Tudor delivered an address for the Phi Beta Kappa 
Society, the object of which was to refute the opinion, that one reason 
why we have not produced more good poems was owing to the want 
of subjects, — that the appi-opriate themes of other countries had been 
exhausted by their own poets, and that none existed in ours. In this 
admirable performance, he makes it evident that the scenery and history 
of our country afford abundant material to the man of genius. His 
concluding sentence is as follows : " The same block of marble which, 
in the hands of an artisan, might only have formed a step for the 
meanest feet to trample on, under the touch of genius unfolded the 
Belvidere Apollo, glowing with divine beauty and immortal youth, 
the destroyer of the Python, the companion of the Muses, the majes- 
tic god of eloquence and poetry." 

In allusion to the novel enterprise of transporting ice to tropical 
climates, originated by the Tudors, the Hon. Edward Everett renders 
the following beautiful and emphatic tribute : 

" The gold expended by this gentleman at Nahant," — Mr. Frederick 
Tudor, — "whether it is httle or much, was originally derived, not from 
California, but from the ice of our own Fresh Pond. It is all Middlesex 
gold, every pennyweight of it. The sparkling surface of our beautiful 
ponds, restored by the kindly hand of nature as often as it is removed, 
has yielded and will continue to yield, ages after the wet diggings 
and the dry diggings of the Sacramento and the Feather rivers are 
exhausted, a perpetual reward to the industry bestowed upon them. 
The sallow Genius of the mine creates but once ; when rifled by man, 
the glittering prize is gone forever. Not so with our pure crystal 



WILLIAM TUDOR. 335 

lakes. Them, with each returning winter, the austere but healthful 
spirit of the North, 

' With mace petrific, cold and dry, 

As -with a trident smites, and fixes firm 
As Delos floating once.' 

" This is a branch of Middlesex industry that we have a right to be 
proud of. I do not think we have yet done justice to it ; and I look 
upon Mr. Tudor, the first person who took up this business on a large 
scale, as a great public benefactor. He has carried comfort, in its 
most inoffensive and salutary form, not only to the dairies and tables 
of our own community, but to those of other regions, throughout the 
tropics, to the furthest east. If merit and benefits conferred gave 
power, it might be said of him, with more truth than of any prince or 
ruler living, 

' super et Garamantas et Indos 

Proferet imperium. ' 

" "\Yhen I had the honor to represent the country at London, I was 
a little struck, one day, at the royal drawing-room, to see the President 
of the Board of Control (the board charged with the supervision of the 
government of India) approaching me with a stranger, at that time 
much talked of in London, — the Babu Dwarkanauth Tagore. This 
person, who is not now living, was a Hindoo of great Avealth, liberality 
and intelligence. He was dressed with oriental magnificence ; — he 
had on his head, by way of turban, a rich cashmere shawl, held 
together by a large diamond broach ; another cashmere around his 
body ; his countenance and manners were those of a highly intelligent 
and remarkable person, as he was. After the ceremony of introduc- 
tion was over, he said he wished to make his acknowledgments to me, 
as the American minister, for the benefits which my countrymen had 
conferred on his countrymen. I did not at first know what he referred 
to ; I thought he might have in view the mission schools, knowing as 
I did that he himself had done a great deal for education. He imme- 
diately said that he referred to the cargoes of ice sent from America to 
India, conducing not only to comfort, but health ; adding, that numer- 
ous lives were saved every year, by applying lumps of American ice 
to the head of the patient, in cases of high fever. He asked me if I 
knew from what part of America it came. It gave me great pleasure 
to teU him that I lived, when at home, within a very short distance of 



336 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS, 

the spot from which it was brought. It was a most agreeable circum- 
stance to hear, in this authentic way, that the sagacity and enterprise 
of my friend and neighbor had converted the pure waters of our lakes 
into the means, not only of promoting health, but saving life, at the 
antipodes. I must say I almost envied ]\Ir. Tudor the honest satis- 
faction which he could not but feel, in reflecting that he had been able 
to stretch out an arm of benevolence from the other side of the globe, 
by which he was every year raising up his fellow-men from the verge 
of the grave. How few of all the foreigners who have entered India, 
from the time of Sesostris, or Alexander the Great, to the present 
time, can say as much ! Others, at best, have gone to govern, too 
often to plunder and to slay ; — our countryman has gone there, not to 
destroy life, but to save it, — to benefit them, while he reaps a well- 
earned harvest himself" 

Mr. Tudor originated the North American Review, in 1815, and the 
first four volumes of this national repository of literature, politics and 
science, are almost entirely from his own hand ; and this journal soon 
exercised an unbounded influence over the American mind. His 
Letters on the Eastern States, published in 1819, and his volume of 
collected miscellanies, mark him as one of the ripest scholars of New 
England. Mr. Tudor pubhshed the " Life of James Otis," in 1823, 
of which it has been remarked that Tudor exhibits Otis, not in a 
solitary portrait, but, like Napoleon on his brazen column, or Wel- 
lington in his silver shield, as the prominent figure in a variety of 
interesting scenes, the head of an illustrious group. Mr. Tudor was 
the originator of the present Bunker Hill Monument. It came to his 
knowledge accidentally that a part of Bunker Hill was for sale ; and 
he ascertained, on inquiry, that the residue embraced the spot on 
which the American redoubt had been raised, and where Warren fell, 
and that this might probably be purchased at that period. Mr. Tudor, 
in the year 1822, expressed a desire to see on the battle-ground " the 
noblest column in the world ; " and witnessed the laying of the corner- 
stone by the noble Lafayette, June 17, 1825. He died before its 
completion, which was not effected until July, 1842. 

Mr. Tudor was the secretary of the Bunker Hill Monument Asso- 
ciation, instituted June 17, 1823, of which John Brooks was its first 
president, and Daniel Webster was the first orator, June 17, 1825. 
Mr. Tudor has the reputation of conceiving and originating the city 



DAVID EVERETT. • 337 

charter of his native city, in 1822, which was matured and drawn up 
by the Hon. Lemuel Shaw. 

Mr. Tudor, in the next year, was appointed consul for the United 
States at Lima and the ports of Peru, and again set sail from his 
native city in Nov. 1823, after which he never returned to his beloved 
country. Li 1827 he was appointed Charge d' Affaires of the United 
States at Rio Janeiro ; and, while resident in that place, Mr. Tudor 
wrote a work of imagination, entitled "Gebel Teir," the name of a 
mountain on the east bank of the Nile, on which, according to an 
xVrabian legend, the birds from all countries of the world annually 
assemble for the purpose of counsel and debate, — on which he con- 
structed an allegory, by way of report to this supposed assembly of 
birds, showing his views and opinions on the condition and policy of 
this country and the nations of Europe. While Mr. Tudor was in 
Brazil, the Rev. C. S. Stewart, a chaplain in the United States navy, 
who visited him at the Praya de Flamengo, relates that he was received 
by JSIr. Tudor with the cordiality of a brother, and was admitted at once 
to the confidence of his bosom. He discovered in him traits truly 
noble and fiiscinating, which excited an admiration and an attachment 
never to be forgotten. 

The treaty of Mr. Tudor with the court of Rio Janeiro was the last 
public service he was permitted to render his country. On the 9th 
March, 1830, he died of a fever incident to the climate. Mr. Tudor 
left many manuscripts regarding the countries in Avhich he resided, 
some of them nearly completed. His official correspondence is also 
preserved ; and it is hoped that all his productions will be published in 
a connected form, as they are an honor to the literature of this nation. 



DAVID EVERETT. 

JULY 4, 1809. FOR THE BUNKER HILL ASSOCIATION. 

Mr. Everett delivered an oration at Amherst, July 4, 1804, which 

is one of his best productions, when he remarked : "It was from the 

assiduous care of our forefathers to make good citizens, their habitual 

and exalted virtues as such, that our country's prosperity increased by 

29 



338 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

sure and progressive steps, that the sturdy roots of independence shot 
deep and spread Avide before its branches scarcely appeared, and long 
before its fruit was anticipated by the imagination. This tree, which 
may yet prove the tree of life to America, or the upas of her dissolu- 
tion, has been protected by the memorable heroism of the veterans of 
our Revolutionary war. From that struggle, its branches have sprung 
up to luxuriance, and its exuberant fruit clustered on every bough. 
We vainly call it the work of our own hands, and are elated at the 
sight of the gorgeous wonder. Ambitious to ascend and enjoy the 
fruit, we neglect to prune its branches and cultivate its roots. Heed- 
less of the annoying insect and insidious worm which devour, we imag- 
ine our toils are ended, and the blessing secure. But as this blessing 
was growing to our hands before we sought it, ere we are aware it may 
be taken from us. Common observation shows that we may soon lose, 
by neglect, what has been acquired by the prudence of years ; and 
that precipitate folly may destroy, in an hour, what has been accumu- 
lated by the wisdom of ages. It is to stimulate, not to discourage, our 
exertion, that all which most adorns private life and sheds lasting lustre 
on a nation is acquired by assiduous efforts, and maintained by con- 
stant care. It is not enough, therefore, that our ancestors were virtuous 
and brave, — that they were exemplary in private life, and conspicuous 
for their devotion to the common good of their country. The spirit 
of gratitude and a laudable pride require that we should commemorate 
their characters with filial reverence. Our duty to ourselves, our 
country, and our God, demand more than the empty homage of the 
tongue. They urge us to revere their example ; to make their correct 
habits and wholesome precepts familiar to ourselves and our children ; 
to view wealth as useless lumber, without the former, and knowledge 
as worse than vain, without the latter. Pursuing their well-known 
track, we cannot essentially err. It has ' line upon line, and precept 
upon precept,' for all the vicissitudes of life, from the pure and simple 
lesson that falls on the listening infant's ear from the lips of the affec- 
tionate mother, to those sublime truths which awe our reason, and 
point the way to heaven. With these sure guides, we have it in our 
power to convince the doubting world that a repubhcan government is 
not an idle theory, — that its strength is the union of its citizens, its 
wealth their public spirit, its stability their virtue, its independence the 
result of all, and its only mystery the simplicity of its principles, exhib- 
iting, in obvious social duties, the whole theory of its pohcy." 



DAVID EVERETT. 339 

David Everett was born at Princeton, Mass., in 1769, and was early 
left an orphan, his father having fallen in mihtary service in the war 
of the Kevolution. He lived and was under the guardian care of rel- 
atives at Wrentham, whence he went to the New Ipswich Academy at 
about the age of twenty-one. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 
1795, and on that occasion had the honor of the valedictory poem, in 
which he predicted of our country as follows : 

*' The Muse prophetic views the coming day, 
When federal laws beyond the line shall sway ; 
Where Spanish indolence inactive lies. 
And every art and every virtue dies, — 
Where pride and avarice their empire hold, 
Ignobly great, and poor amid their gold, — 
Columbia's genius shall the mind inspire, 
And fill each breast with patriotic fire. 
Nor east nor western oceans shall confine 
The generous flame that dignifies the mind ; 
O'er all the earth shall Freedom's banner wave, 
The tyrant blast, and liberate the slave ; 
Plenty and peace shall spread from pole to pole, 
Till earth's grand family possess one soul." 

Having studied law with John M. Forbes, he entered the bar in 
Boston, and had an office in Court-street, in company with the noted 
Thomas 0. Selfridge, who killed Charles Austin, in State-street ; in 

1801 was poet for the Phi Beta Kappa celebration at Cambridge ; in 

1802 he removed to Amherst, N. H., and remained in that town until 
1807, when he returned to Boston, and established the Boston Patriot 
in 1809, devoted to the interests of the Democratic party. It was in 
the paper that President John Adams, who had become disaffected 
towards the Federal party, wrote historical reminiscences and political 
essays. 

Mr. Everett was author of a very agreeable little work, entitled 
"Common Sense in Dishabille," written after the manner of Noah 
Webster's "Prompter," wliich should be published in a tasteful form, 
and widely scattered. He wrote dramatic pieces, one of which — " Da- 
ranziel, or the Persian Patriot" — was performed in 1800 at the Fed- 
eral-street Theatre. Mr. Everett early engaged in politics, and wrote 
in the Boston Gazette over the signature of " Junius Americanus." 
He was at this period warm in the interests of the Federal party ; but 
he took sides, in the great division of the party between President 



340 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Adams, on the one hand, and that section of the Federal party kno"vni 
as the Essex junto, and inchned in opposition to the latter. Mr. Ever- 
ett married Dorothy, daughter of Dea. Isaac Appleton, Dec. 29, 1799, 
who was sister of the eminent Appletons of Boston. In 1811 Mr. 
Everett pubhshed the first number of a Demonstration on the Divinity 
of the Scriptures in the fulfilment of the Prophecies, being a series of 
essays, in which he writes: " I have endeavored to prove that the peo- 
ple of the United States of America are distinctly alluded to and char- 
acterized by the inspired writers, Daniel and St. John : in one, by the 
stone cut out of the mountain, without hands ; in the other, by the 
man-child of the church militant. We have seen that those symbols 
must, upon every prmciple of analogy and sound reasoning, necessarily 
represent some new character in the prophetic drama, at or before its 
grand catastrophe ; and that the subject represented must, upon the 
same principles, be a people or nation deriving their origin from Chris- 
tendom. Such are the people of the United States. Their origin was 
the result of no edict or formal act of secular power, as signified by 
the figurative expression in Daniel. They are the offspring of the per- 
secuted and reforming church, as designated by St. John. They have 
been the peculiar subjects of that protecting care of Divine Providence, 
so strongly intimated by those striking symbols which appear to give 
the first distinct view of them, and so clearly expressed in the further 
development of their history and character by both these prophets. 
They have also attained their national independence, as evidently rep- 
resented by their being caught up to the throne of God, the manifest 
emblem of sovereign power, and perhaps of the excellence of its form 
of government." We do not discover that this production ever 
extended to another number. It comprises forty pages in octavo, 
and displays great ingenuity of argument. In 1812 Mr. Everett 
espoused the cause of De Witt Clinton for the presidency, in oppo- 
sition to James Madison, thus returning to the Federal party. He 
conducted, also, "The Yankee," and engaged in "The Pilot," which 
survived but a brief period. In 1813 he removed to Marietta, Ohio, 
Avhere, before succeeding in establisliing a proposed newspaper, he died, 
Dec. 21, 1813, aged forty-four years. 

INIr. Everett had a sprightliness of mind, with a liberal share of wit ; 
rare poetic taste, as his poems show ; and was a racy, pungent writer, 
admirably fitted for popular effect. Mr. Everett, in the winter pre- 
vious to entering Dartmouth College, in 1T91, when a teacher in the 



DAVID EVERETT. 



341 



grammar school, at New Ipswich, prepared a little poem to be recited 
at an exhibition got up in the academic style, composed expressly for 
Ephraim H. Farrar, to be spoken by him on the occasion, when only 
seven years of age. We quote this curiosity, as it appears in Bing- 
ham's Columbian Orator. It is a rare sample of juvenile wit, and will 
be famous so long as a youthful orator appears on the floor of a school 
or an academy : 

" You 'd scarce expect one of my age 
To speak in public on the stage ; 
And if I chance to fall below 
Demosthenes or Cicero, 
Don't view me with a critic's eye, 
But pass my imperfections by: 
Large streams from little fountains flow ; 
Tall oaks from little acorns grow ; 
And though I now am small and young. 
Of judgment weak, and feeble tongue, 
Yet all great learned men, like me. 
Once learned to read theii' A, B, C 
But why may not Columbia's soil 
Rear men as great as Britain's Isle, — 
Exceed what Greece and Rome have done, 
Or any land beneath the sun ? 
May n't Massachusetts boast as great 
As any other sister State ? 
Or where 's the town, go far and near. 
That does not find a rival here ? 
Or where 's the boy, but three feet high, 
Whose made improvement more than I ? 
These thoughts inspire my youthful mind 
To be the greatest of mankind : — 
Great, not like Caesar, stained with blood. 
But only great as I am good." 

It having been a question of contest, for more than half a century, 
as to whom this little poem may be ascribed, and for whom it was 
written, — the prevailing opinion being that it was prepared for Edward 
Everett,— we find in a speech of this gentleman, delivered at Cam- 
bridge, after the public school examination in the High School, July 
23, 1850, his own declaration to the contrary. After being called on 
by the mayor to address the company, Mr. Everett, in the exordium, 
remarked : " May it please your honor, I cheerfully comply with your 
request that I would say a few words on the present occasion, although 
I am aware that this respectable company is not assembled to hear me. 
29* 



342 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS, 

I may, in fact, -with propriety, use the words of a favorite little poem, 
which many persons have done me the honor to ascribe to me, but 
which was, in reality, written by a distant relative and namesake of 
mine, — and, if I mistake not, before I was born. It begins — 

' You 'd scarce expect one of my age 
To speak in public on the stage.' 

This place and the day belong to the young ; and, after what we have 
heard from them, I need not say that they need no assistance from their 
seniors to give interest to the occasion." And, in the conclusion of an 
extended speech on popular education, Mr. Everett cautions the scholars 
against studying too hard in vacation, and advises them, after the 
fatigues of three months at school, not to engage in work for eight or 
ten hours a day at home. " I hope youT fathers and mothers will not 
permit it," says Everett. "If you insist upon a half an hour or so 
in the morning, and as much more in the afternoon and evening, by 
way of amusement, I do not know that I should greatly object ; but 
take care to have a right good time, and come back at the end of the 
holidays v.'ith rosy cheeks and bright eyes, ready to engage Avith eager- 
ness in the duties of the new term." 

In our outhne of the Hon. Edward Everett appears a choice little 
poem, written for him, and spoken by him at a school exhibition in his 
native town of Dorchester. The boy who spoke the simple speech 
written by David Everett, Avhose name was Ephraim Hartwell Farrar, 
was writing-master, in 1813, in the elementary school of Lawson Lyon, 
located on the north side of Dr. Channing's church, in Boston, where 
sons of our most distinguished families were educated ; among whom 
were boys who have risen to eminence in public life, such as Rev. 
Stephen H. Tyng, and Rev. William Furness, of Philadelphia ; Alex- 
ander Young, D.D., Rev. Samuel J. May, Rev. Ralph Waldo Emer- 
son, Rev. Wm. P. Lunt, William H. Gardiner, John Everett, William 
Parsons, son of the late chief-justice, and the Gilberts, brokers, in State- 
street. Master Farrar was remarkable for a mild and even temper. 
A gentler soul never breathed, and his benignant light stroke of the 
rattan was a striking contrast to the eight severe blows of the button- 
wood ferule vigorously applied by Master Lyon, the terror of the 
school. As posterity will ever desire to know the history of the boy 
for whom the inimitable speech was written, we will relate that he was 
the youngest son of Rev. Stephen Farrar, the first minister of New 



DAVID EVERETT. 343 

Ipswich, wlio graduated at Harvard College, 1755. He was born 
Dec. 8, 1783, and married Phebe Parker in 1825, widow of Jonas C. 
Champney, by whom he had one daughter. His wife died in 1848 ; 
and Master Farrar died in New Ipswich, Jan. 8, 1851. After being 
many years a teacher in Boston, he became a partner in trade with a 
Mr. Carleton ; and, on returning to his native town, he became the 
town-clerk, which station he occupied until his decease. He was edu- 
cated at the New Ipswich Academy ; and it was at one of the annual 
exhibitions of that institution when he was called on to recite this 
beautiful poem. It is interesting to remark, that at the centennial 
celebration in that town, September, 1850, when he was an old man, 
he was called out again to personate the youth for whom that effusion 
was written ; and, immediately rising, merely repeated the first two 

lines : 

" You 'd scarce expect one of my age 
To speak in public on the stage," 

which excited the risibles of the audience. 

We cannot be parted from these pleasant reminiscences without 
introducing Master Farrar's own criticisms on the subject. In writing 
from New Ipswich, under date of July 27, 1849, he relates that Mr. 
Everett kept the grammar school in the centre of this town, and got 
up an exhibition in the academic style, and at this time wrote the lines 
expressly for and to be spoken by the writer of this communication, 
then a httle boy seven years of age. " The 'Lines' were handed to 
me in manuscript. After they had been given to me, I had always 
considered them as in a sense belonging to me, to my native state, my 
native town. When, therefore, I saw, in the printed copy, the substi- 
tution of two words for two in the original, namely, ' ISIassachusetts ' 
and 'sister,' for ' New Hampshire ' and 'Federal,' I thought there 
was either a gross mistake in the printer, or an infringement upon my 
rights ; this changing the place broke up all my former associations, 
and entirely destroyed the intrinsic merits of the piece. Whether this 
was done by the author or not, I am not able to say. I am rather 
inclined to think the latter was ; for he afterwards became a politician 
of the Jefferson school, edited a paper called 'The Patriot,' and the 
word ' Fedex'al ' became extremely obnoxious to many of that party. 
This, however, I never quarrelled much about. But that my native 
State should receive such an insult, I felt very indignant. It seemed 
to my youthful heart to say, there was one man who might possibly 



344 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

have some doubts whether New Hampshire could boast as great as any 
other federal State, — so, to end all dispute everywhere, he would put 
in Massachusetts ; but, after a residence of several years in the very 
heart of that State, thus becoming more expatriated from the one, and 
naturalized to the other, and seeing, also, that every little boy read 
the piece just as if it were his own, I gave over the contest, and 
became reconciled to the change, with this proviso, that, from that 
time, every boy who should speak the piece should have the hberty to 
substitute his own State." 



WILLIAM CHARLES WHITE. 

JULY i, 1809. FOR THE BUNKER HILL ASSOCIATION. 

On this occasion, Mr. White pronounced a brief oration, after which, 
another was given, by David Everett. We glean two elo(^uent pas- 
sages from his oration at Worcester, which indicate marks of a power- 
ful imagination : "The hberty of the press forms the broad basis of 
that pyramid of freedom which rises in awful grandeur to the heavens, 
the majestic monument of our glory. Tear away this, and that super- 
structure, now the envy and the glory of the world, must fall, a heap 
of ruins, to the earth. Be it remembered, my countrymen, that 
against this right the tyrant has ever directed his eye, with jealous 
vigilance. The slavery of the mind forms the blackest preface to his 
voluminous despotism. So long as this remains, so long may he 
securely riot in the miseries of his subjects. He may steep them in 
poverty to the very lips, and bend and chain down their captive and 
servile spirits to the lowest deep of debasement. Yet how often have 
we been told of the kingly benefactions to which literature is indebted ! 
How often has it been vociferated in our ears that the soil of a repubhc 
is unfriendly to the growth of the fine arts ! This is a theme upon 
which many of our scholars have dwelt with proud satisfaction. They 
are welcome to the peevish pleasure of such paltry prejudices. Have 
these men forgotten that every Athenian was a critic in eloquence 1 
and that a Roman populace has often been alternately soothed and 



WILLIAM CHARLES WHITE. 845 

inflamed by the fire and pathos of Cicero 1 Let it not be said that the 
two repubhcs were inauspicious to the fine arts. Were not the Muses 
passionately wooed by the favorite votaries ? Did not the canvas glow 
with mimic life'? and the marble emulate the noble exterior of 
humanity? " 

Here we have an eulogium of Washington, in a highly poetic strain : 
" How do your finest heart-strings tremble and vibrate at the mention 
of Washington ! He smiled at the tempest ; he defied the storm con- 
jured up by the black incantations of ministerial witchcraft, and hurled 
upon our devoted country by the dreadful machinery of parliamentary 
furies ! No proud abbey boasts the exclusive honor of his precious 
relics. His solitary grave is hallowed from the profane tread of curi- 
ous and crowding spectators. In this consecrated spot the poppy 
shall never fix its downy root, nor the wormwood thrive, nor the thistle 
shoot its bearded and unsalutary stalk. No ; this holy soil is con- 
genial only to those eternal laurels that there spring up, and bloom, 
and flourish, in thick and emulating clusters ! There genius has often 
knelt in humble and fervent devotion, and rendered up his varied and 
rival oSerings. But, how imperfect, how unworthy, how vain, are 
his best and brightest gifts ! The historian has sat down to his record, 
— but how cold are his facts, how inanimate his reflections ! The 
sculptor has plied his chisel, — but what art can mould the reluctant 
marble into the representative of that form and those features where 
every god did seem to set his seal '? The painter has spread his can- 
vas, — but, how faint the resemblance ! what an awkward mimicry of 
the original ! So would it still have been, though a Raphael had 
sketched the design, a Titian had shed his colors, a Guido had lavished 
his graces, a Salvator had accumulated his sublimities ! The poet has 
poured his verse, — but how far below the subject would have been 
even their powers, though a Pindar had thrown his bold and heedless 
hand amidst the strings, or the pathetic Muse had trembled out the 
tenderest note that ever faltered from her melancholy lyre ! " 

William Charles White was born in Boston in 1777, and the son of 
William White, a merchant of Boston, who apprenticed him to Joseph 
Coolidge, an importing Boston merchant, in whose employ he con- 
tinued for a few years. A taste for polite literature soon rendered the 
journal and the ledger irksome to his mind. In 1796, WilHam had 
written " Orlando," a tragedy, afterwards printed, with a hkeness of 
the author. In the winter of this year, his father visited New York 



346 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

city, where lie remained during a long period. He felt an abhorrence 
of the di-ama, and was deeply affected to find his son's passion for it so 
strong that reproof made him almost insane : 

" A son hig father's spirit doomed to cross, 
By penning stanzas while he should engross." 

His father writes to a friend in Boston as follows: "William had 
for some time discovered his propensity for theatric exhibitions, and by 
all opportunities. I discountenanced in him this inordinate passion. 
During my absence from Boston last summer, he wrote a play, which, 
on my return, some of the family mentioned to me. Although I was 
not pleased with his study and writings in this style, yet I supposed it 
a good opportunity to turn his attention, and destroy gradually his pre- 
dilection for the stage. About a month previous to my leaving Boston, 
he grew sick, and was apparently in a decline. I was very anxious, 
and postponed my journey for some time. A few days before I left 
home, he seemed to be in better spirits, and declared himself to feel 
essentially better than he had been ; and when I came away, opened 
liimself in a very dutiful and respectful manner, by observing that his 
illness arose from his insatiable thirst for the stage ; but that his reso- 
lution had gained the ascendency of his desires, — and entreated me 
not to have the least uneasiness respecting him in that particular, for 
he had determined not to give way to that inclination." However 
sincere was the promise, it was soon broken. The conflict of fihal 
duty with passionate desire was so violent as to bring its victim to the 
verge of distraction. Unable to resist his dramatic love, he made his 
first appearance at the Federal-street Theatre, Dec. 14, 1796, in the 
character of Nerval, in the tragedy of Douglas, and was received with 
great applause. In a letter of apology, written the next day to his 
father, he says : "I am sorry I was compelled by violence of inclina- 
tion to deviate from my promises to you ; but life was one series of 
vexations, disajipointment and wretchedness. Pray let this considera- 
tion have some weight with you. But, for Heaven's sake, for your 
own sake, and for my own sake, do not tear me from a profession which, 
if I am deprived of, will be attended with fatal consequences ! " Never 
did parent mourn more inconsolably for the worst follies or darkest 
crimes of his offspring, than did the father of the actor over this 
example of perversity in his family. His epistles are filled with 
expressions of distress so extravagant that they are only redeemed from 



WILLIAM CHARLES WHITE. 347 

beino- ludicrous by the deep sorrow they breathe. He thus addresses 
the tragedian: "Dear William, — for so I will still call you,— my 
beloved son ! stain not the memory of your amiable and tender mother 
by your folly ; break not the heart of your father,— bring not down 
his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave, but rouse yourself from this 
seeming state of insanity ! Your youth will excuse you, for once. 
But, for God's sake, and everything you hold dear, I pray you to 
refrain, and be not again seen on a common stage ! " The temporary 
success of the aspirant for theatric fame alleviated the sufferings of the 
distressed parent, and he reluctantly yielded to the advice of friends, 
and consented that William might occasionally tread the boards, but 
only in the elevated walks of tragedy. " Let me enjoin it upon you," 
he writes, " never to appear, — no, not for once, — in any comic act, 
where the mimic tricks of a monkey are better fitted to excite laugh- 
ter, and where dancing, singing and kissing, may be thought amuse- 
ment enough for a dollar. No, William ; I had, much as I love you, 
rather follow you to the grave, than to see you, and myself, and my 
family, so disgraced." 

He appeared as Orlando in his own tragedy, Dezio ; as Tancred, in 
Thompson's Tancred and Sigismundi, Jan. 2, 1797. He personated 
Romeo, and Octavian, in the Mountaineers, also, on the Boston stage. 
The tide of popular favor effected v.-hat parental admonition and 
entreaty failed to accomplish. Controversy with the manager arose,— 
the applause which followed his first efforts grew fainter, — the fit of 
romantic enthusiasm exhausted itself, — and the earliest exertion of 
reflection resulted in the determination to adopt the profession of the 
law. In July, 1797, he entered the office of Levi Lincoln, in Wor- 
cester, as a student. In July, 1800, he removed to Providence, 
where he completed his studies, under Judge Howell, and opened an 
office in that city. In 1804 Mr. White delivered an oration on the 
national independence, at Worcester. Not finding business, and being 
embarrassed for funds, he again resorted to the stage. Dunlap 
relates, in his History of the American Theatre, that, " On the 19th 
of January a young man from Worcester, Mass., was brought out with 
some promise of success, in young Nerval. Curiosity was excited, 
and a house of six hundred and fourteen dollars obtained. He had 
performed in Boston, when quite a boy, with that applause so 
freely and often so industriously bestowed on such efforts ; had since 
studied law, and was at this time a tall, handsome youth, but not 



348 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

destined by nature to shine. He attempted Romeo, and gave hopes of 
improvement ; but much improvement was wanting to constitute him 
an artist." He played Alonzo, in Columbus; Aimwell, in the Beaux 
Stratagem; Theodore, in the Court of Narbonne; Elvira, in the 
Christian Suitor ; and Altamont, in the Fair Penitent. In the play 
of the Abbe de I'Epee he failed altogether in the part of St. Alme, 
was hissed, and Avithdrawn by his own consent, — as it was announced 
to the public, "on finding the character too difficult." About this 
time was begun, and nearly completed, a drama, with the title, " The 
Conflict of Love and Pati'iotism, or the Afflicted Queen," still pre- 
served in manuscript, and never fi^nished. A visit to Richmond, Va., 
where he performed a few nights, was crowned Avith success, and he 
designed to devote his hfe to the stage. The reverse of fortune in 
some of his efforts again cured the dramatic mania. In the summer 
of 1801 he returned to the bar, and established himself at Rutland, 
Worcester county, where some of his relatives then resided, and where 
his father, who had become unfortunate in business, soon after removed. 
He was married to Tamar Smith, the daughter of a respectable farmer 
of Rutland. The degree of eminence and emolument he attained as 
counsellor did not satisfy his ambition, and he sought a wider field. 
He delivered a patriotic oration at Rutland, July 4, 1802. In May, 
1809, he prepared to publish a Compendium of the Laws of Massa- 
chusetts, printed in that year and in " 1810, — a work useful in that 
period, but soon superseded by a revision of the statutes, — and its 
publication was attended with great loss of money. The severe but 
witty comment of an eminent jurist on this work was, that it resem- 
liled the tessellated pavement in Burke's description, " here a little 
Blackstone, there a little White." To superintend the printing of 
this work, Mr. White removed to Boston in 1810, and formed a pro- 
fessional engagement with David Everett, Esq., of brief continuance. 
It was in the year previous that Mr. White delivered in Boston the 
oration named at the head of this article, on w^hich occasion, in the pro- 
cession, appeared the ship United States, full rigged, drawn by thirteen 
white horses, with mounted guns, and eight artillery-men on each 
side. In 1810 Mr. White pronounced another oration on the national 
independence, at Hubbardston. On the resignation of Judge Bangs, 
in 1811, he was appointed County Attorney, which station he retained 
until his death. In 1812 he removed to Grafton, and in 1813 resided 
at Worcester, when he published the Avowals of a Republican, being 



ALEXANDER TOWNSEND. 349 

a vindication repelling the charge of apostasy from democratic princi- 
ples, comprised in forty-eight octavo pages. In 1814 Mr. White 
removed to Sutton, where he married a second wife, Susan Johonnot, 
a daughter of Dr. Stephen Monroe, Aug. 13, 1815. He returned to 
Worcester in 1816, and, during the last years of his life, owing to an 
organic disease, — the dropsy, — a mortal paleness overspread his 
countenance, and he died May 2, 1818, aged 41. 

Through the whole of his active and singular career, the irrepress- 
ible love of the drama was his ruling passion. The Clergyman's 
Daughter, by Mr. White, a play founded on McKenzie's Man of the 
World, was first acted on the Boston stage Jan. 1, 1810, was pub- 
lished, and received with great favor. In December of that year Mr. 
White produced The Poor Lodger, a comedy (adopting the incidents 
of Evelina, an exquisite tale by Miss Burney), which was also pub- 
lished. He was an editor of the National ^gis. 

Mr. Lincoln remarks of him, in the History of Worcester, from 
which a large portion of this sketch is condensed, that he possessed a 
high grade of talent which is called genius. In Mr. White's addresses 
at the bar, there were splendid passages of eloquence ; but they were 
unequal, — although parts were strong, they were not connected, with 
logical method and clearness. His taste was refined and correct. 
Greater constancy and perseverance might have raised him to high 
rank in many of the departments of forensic exertion, literary efibrt, or 
dramatic exhibition. 



ALEXANDER TOWNSEND. 

JULY i, 181/> FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

In the oration of Mr. Townsend, we find a happy allusion to a pre- 
diction advanced in Smith's Wealth of Nations: "The tree of our 
republican liberty, like the fabled myrtle of ^neas, sinks its roots in 
blood. To agitate it extremely, might disturb the repose of our 
fathers. Like Polydore, they would cry to us from the ground, 

' That every drop this living tree contains 
Is kindred blood, and ran in patriotic veins.' 

30 



350 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Let us rally under its branches. Its leaves are healing to the taste. 
Transatlantic genius long since predicted, when we were one in govern- 
ment with Britain, that in little more than a century, perhaps, Amer- 
ican taxation would be more productive than British, and the seat of 
empire change." 

" Riot robbed glory of scarcely a life," says Mr. Townsend. " Not 
a drop of the blood that was poured out for hberty could be spared for 
licentiousness. Little mob ^^olence disgraced our proceedings. The 
din of arms could not drown the voice of law. Men, hurrying on to 
liberty, still stopped to do homage to justice. The fifth of March, 
1770, wliile it did much to establish our independence, did more to 
prove we were worthy of it. The very soldiers, viewed in the most 
odious light, as members of a standing army quartered upon us in 
time of peace, whose firing ujwn the populace produced death and 
liberty, were almost immediately, by that populace, and for that firing, 
solemnly, dehberately and righteously, acquitted of murder. My 
friends, this is the greatest glory in our history, the brightest gem in 
our national diadem. Brutes have passions ; men should govern them. 
We have another instance, hx the temple of justice a voice was after- 
wards heard : ' I will this day die soldier, or sit judge ; ' and then was 
suddenly expressed what since, thank God, has proved a permanent 
feature of the New England judiciary." 

Alexander Townsend was born in Boston, and son of David Towns- 
end, formerly a watch-maker in State-street. He graduated at Har- 
vard College in 1802, read law under the eminent Samuel Dexter, 
was an attorney of Suffolk bar in 1806, and soon became a counsellor- 
at-law. He was an unmarried man. After the delivery of the oration 
at the head of this article, the following sentiment was given for the 
orator of the day, by the president, at the dinner in Faneuil Hall : 
" May the principles he has this day eulogized long have the support 
of his talents and his eloquence." Mr. Townsend gave, on this occa- 
sion, " Faneuil Hall : May it never rock to sleep the independence it 
created." 

Mr. Townsend was a large owner of real estate in Boston ; and was 
proprietor of the Marlboro' Hotel, originally a dark, unsightly build- 
ing, which he remodelled in handsome style ; and, when advertising 
the edifice to let, informed those who complained that the building 
was deficient in light that they had better blame their eyes than the 
edifice. Mr. Townsend was warmly interested in the political topics 



DANIEL WALDO LINCOLN. 351 

of the day, and frequently engaged in active debate at Faneuil Hall ; 
but was not a popular speaker, more because of his uncouth, declama- 
tory manner, than for want of forcible argument. He died in Bos- 
ton, April 13, 1835, aged 51 years. 



DANIEL WALDO LINCOLN. 

JULY 4, 1810. FOR THE BUNKER HILL ASSOCIATION. 

Was son of Levi Lincoln, and born in Worcester, March 2, 1784 ; 
graduated at Harvard College in 1803, on which occasion he dehvered 
a poem on " Benevolence." He studied law with his father, settled 
in Portland, Me., and was appointed by Gov. Sullivan the county 
attorney of Cumberland; he removed to Boston in 1810, and returned 
to Portland in 1813. The early decease of the beautiful Miss Cald- 
well, of Worcester, to whom he was engaged, shortened his days. He 
was a brother of Governor Lincoln. He died April 17, 1815. 

The Bunker Hill Association was originated on the brow of the 
battle-field, in Charlestown, July 4, 1808, in consequence, probably, 
of the refusal of the Federal selectmen of Boston to permit the Repub- 
lican party the use of Faneuil Hall, for the celebration of our national 
independence, thus subjecting them to the necessity of obtaining a 
church, or public hall, for several years; Avhich elicited the forth- 
coming sentiment at the public festival, July 4, 1810, after the dehv- 
ery of the oration by D. W. Lincoln : " The Republican Orator of the 
Day : Well might his enemies endeavor to obstruct his passage to a 
rostrum ; the name of Cicero was not more dreadful to the Catilines of 
Rome than is that of Lincoln to the Essex Junto." 

The oration pronounced this day, and another, delivered at Worces- 
ter, July 4, 1808, are the only printed memorials of this writer of fine 
rhetorical power. " Tyrants, bewai'e ! " commences our orator, in the 
peroration. "Dare not to invade the sacred rights chartered to 
nature's children by nature's God ! Dare not to provoke the ven- 
geance of valor, the indignation of virtue, the anathema of Heaven ! 
Restrain the savage myrmidons of thy power from the sacrilegious 
violation of peacCj the prostration of law, the destruction of estate, and 



352 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

the sacrifice of life ! Such vrere the dictates of reason, ere usurping 
pride trampled on the prerogatives and immunities of freemen. Such 
were the arguments of justice, ere legislative voracity M-rested from 
the stubborn hand of labor the vrages of toilsome industr3^ Such 
were the petitions of loyalty, ere wanton cruelty had curdled the 
mantling blood of kindred affection, or annulled the hallowed obligation 
of filial submission. Such were the entreaties of humanity, ere the 
ministers of royal barbai'ity were unleashed, ere ruin revelled at his 
harvest home, or death celebrated his carnival." There were present at 
its delivery John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, and Governor Gerry, 
signers of the Declaration of Independence ; H. G. Otis, President of 
the Senate, and Perez Morton, Speaker of the House. Without 
doubt, the abrupt outbreak of the orator prompted the men of power 
to gaze at him, as the audience involuntarily cast their eyes upon 
them, desiring to know who were rebuked. We will cite another 
passage from the one at this date, in which our orator enlarges on the 
direful effects of party strife : " Like the enchantment of Circe's bale- 
ful cup, party spirit has transformed mankind, unmoulding reason's 
mintage. It has frozen the current of the heart, and paralyzed the 
pulses of love. Friendship meets a stranger in forgotten sympathy ; 
fraternity turns aside from alienated affection ; and parental tenderness 
petrifies in filial estrangement. The demon of party spirit has per- 
vaded even to the penetralia, and subverted the altars of the Penates, 
while, enthroned on the ruins, he triumphs in domestic discord. Party 
spirit has invaded places most sacred, reverend and holy; has pol- 
luted the judgment-seat, and profaned the temples of the Most High. 
History points to her sanguine leaf, the mournful memorial of party 
rage. See Marius' spear reeking Avith gore ! Behold, expiring breath 
lingers on Sylla's blade ! Can the drops be numbered that fall from 
Julius' sword? Can the stains be scoured from Antonius' helm 7 
Mark the rose dripping with blood, where brother falls beneath a 
brother's hand, where man is unhumanizcd, and the savage is fleshed 
in kindred carnage ! Father of mercies ! let not such be the destiny 
of my country ! Let not the evening star go down in blood ! Educa- 
tion can unlock the clasping charm, and thaw the murmuring spell of 
party spirit. By informing man how, little man can know, it will 
relax the dogmatical pertinacity of ignorance, and infuse a temper of 
candor and kind concihation ; not the obsequious conciliation which 
receives and adopts errors, but that which forgives them." 



JAMES SAVAGE. 353 

JAMES SAVAGE. 

JULY 4, 1811. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

In the peroration of the eloquent performance of Mr. Savage, we 
have a remonstrance against the commercial encroachments of Napo- 
leon, at the very period when he was the most powerful despot in the 
world, which evinces a manly and patriotic spirit. 

"Can we be deluded, my countrymen," says Mr. Savage, "out of 
our liberties by him who announces that ' the Americans cannot hes- 
itate as to the part which they are to take ; ' who declares that ' we 
ought either to tear to pieces the act of our independence,' or coincide 
with his plans ; who implicitly calls our administration ' men with- 
out just political views, without honor, without energy ; ' and who 
threatens them ' that it will be necessary to fight for interest, after 
having refused to fight for honor ' ? Shall the emperor, who is no less 
versed in the tactics of desolation than in the vocabulary of insult and 
the promises of perfidy, deceive our government by assertions that ' His 
Majesty loves the Americans,' — their prosperity and their commerce 
are within the scope of his policy? We knew before that his political 
magazine contains rattles for babies, as well as whips for cowards. 
Our commerce has, indeed, long been within the scope of his policy, as 
our merchants and mariners will forever remember. His Majesty, no 
doubt, does love the Americans, as the butcher delights in the lamb he 
is about to slaughter, as the tiger courts the kid he would mangle and 
devour. For such promises, the sacrifice of honor, of interest, of 
peace, of liberty, and of hope, is required. For such promises, some 
are willing to stir up former national antipathies, and, when these are 
too weak for their purpose, to employ new artifices of treachery, to 
excite the passions of those who are slow to reason ; while others pro- 
mote the design by reproaching opponents with idle words, and threat- 
ening them with empty menaces. If Heaven has abandoned us to be 
so deceived into ruin, on some future anniversary of our national exist- 
ence we may exclaim, with Antony, in the bitterness of despair : 

' They tell us 't is our birthday, and we '11 keep it 
With double pomp of sadness ; 
'T is what the day deserves that gave us breath. 
"Why were we raised the meteor of the world, 

30* 



354 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Hung in the skies, and blazing as Tve travelled, 

Till all our fires -were spent, and then cast downwards 

To be trod out by Cajsar ? ' 

"Without adverting to the pohtical questions of our own govern- 
ment, we have, my fellow-citizens, a criterion hy -which to distinguish 
the supporters of American independence. They who behold with 
indifference the freedom of other nations prostrated are no friends of 
our own. One country after another, in melancholy and rapid suc- 
cession, is absorbed in the imperial vortex ; and some of our citizens 
are led, by the enmity against England which they are instructed to 
cherish, to exult in these forewarnings of our destruction. Shall the 
delusion be corrected 1 Shall we feel that our own existence is haz- 
arded, when Holland, and Switzerland, and Naples, and Spain, dissolve 
into the heated mass of French power, like the towering ice-mountains 
of the pole, as they float towards the south 7 Shall our rulers ' suffer 
scorn till they merit it,' and lose the inheritance of valor by the expe- 
dients of imbecility ? Shall they adhere to error till it becomes trea- 
son 7 Ardent as is my execration of the cowardly policy that submits 
without resistance to degradation, I should more earnestly abhor the 
alliance in which many apprehend that we are irrevocably bound. 
Every part of our body that was sensible to pain has smarted w'ith the 
lash of French enmity ; but the sighs and groans of Europe, from the 
Baltic to the Hellespont, witness the exquisite torments inflicted by 
their friendship. Let the spirit of our fathers be evoked from their 
tombs, to recall their posterity to the recollection of their honorable 
origin, to the vindication of their ancient glory. There is, we hope, a 
redeeming spirit in the people, which will restore dignity to govern- 
ment and prosperity to the country, — which will bring us back to the 
principles of better times, and the practice of Washington. — which will 
assert our independence wherever the enterprise of our commerce has 
been exhibited, and make it lasting and incorruptible as the private 
virtues of our countrymen." 

The ancestor of James Savage, who was Maj. Thomas Savage, came 
to Boston from St. Albans, Hertfordshire, April, 1635, in the ship 
Planter, Nic. Trarice, master ; was one of the Court of Assistants, and 
a founder of the Old South Church. He Avas one of those who under- 
took, in 1673, to erect a barricade in Boston harbor, for security against 
a fleet then expected from Holland ; out of which grew, in less than 
forty years, the Long Wharf, a small portion of which has continued 



JAMES SAVAGE, 355 

ever since, the property of some of his descendants. The father of 
James Savage was Habijah, a merchant of Boston, who married Ehz- 
abeth, daughter of John Tudor, whose residence was in Winter-street, 
on the south side, opposite the Common, where the subject of this out- 
line was born, July 13. 1784. His mother died before he was four 
years of age, and he early entered Derby Academy, in Hingham, 
under the tuition of Abner Lincoln, and Washington Academy, at 
Machias, Me., under Daniel P. Upton. He graduated at Harvard 
College in 1803, on which occasion he gave an oration in English on 
the Patronage of Genius. Mr. Savage engaged in the study of law 
under the late Chief Justice Parker, Samuel Dexter, and William Sul- 
livan, and entered Suffolk bar, January, 1807 ; previous to which he 
became a member of the Boston Anthology Society, and was its secre- 
tary in January of that year ; and being, previous to this period, in 
declining health, he visited, with his relative and devoted friend, Wil- 
liam Tudor, Jr., in 1805, the islands of Martinique, Dominique, St. 
Thomas, St. Domingo, and Jamaica. He was an original founder and 
life-subscriber of the Boston Athenaeum, in the same year. 

Mr. Savage was, during a period of five years, an editor of the 
Monthly Anthology, which was the first purely literary periodical in 
New England, conducted by members of the Anthology Society, a lit- 
erary club of many of our finest scholars, which met at private dwell- 
ings, and after supper devoted their time to literary criticisms and 
general discussions on polite literature, theology, and varied contro- 
versy. When this periodical was discontinued, in 1811, New England 
was without a literary review of like character ; and it was not until 
1815 that the North American Review, like a phoenix, arose from its 
ruins, originated by such scions of the parent club as William Tudor 
and William S. Shaw, to which review Mr. Savage was a contributor. 

There is, in the pages of the Anthology, a curious controversy 
between Dr. J. S. J. Gardiner and Rev. J. S. Buckminster, on the 
merits of Gray as a poet. This dispute bears some resemblance to the 
discussions between the romantic and classical schools in literature, says 
the biographer of Buckminster. Dr. Gardiner maintains. Avith dry 
reasoning, that Pope's is the only true model for real poetry. The 
object of an allusion to this controversy is to introduce an anecdote 
related by Mr. Savage, then a member of the society. " Controversy," 
said he, " sprang up in the club, on the literary nature of Gray's Odes ; 
and the war began with a burlesque ode to Winter, by our president, Rev. 



356 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

J. S. J. Gardiner, who followed it up with one on Summer, also in the 
Anthology. In the same number, Buckminster gave a forcible defence 
of the imagery and epithets of the poet, which the next month was 
replied to by the assailant, and in the following number was strength- 
ened by the other side ; and this also Avas counteracted by another par- 
ody of the lyric inspiration, in which Gray's Odes were caricatured. 
A fourth attempt at the ludicrous, by our president, contained some- 
thing unguardedly personal from the satirist to his antagonist, which 
produced strong though silent emotions of sympathy in many of the 
party. In an instant, the writer threw the inconsiderate effusion into 
the fire. From that moment, no allusion was made in the club to 
Gray's merits." 

In 1806, when l\Ir. Savage was a candidate for the degree of Master 
of Arts, he gave an oration on the progress and advancement of com- 
merce; and in 1812 he pronounced the Phi Beta Kappa oration. Mr. 
Savage was elected a State representative several times, first in 1812 ; 
to the State Senate, first in 1826 ; to the Executive Council, first in 
1830, and is an overseer of Harvard College. In 1819 Mr. Savage 
visited Demarara. He was elected to the Common Council first in 
1823, to the board of Aldermen, first in 1827, and to the school com- 
mittee. In April, 1823, Mr. Savage married Elizabeth Otis, widow 
of James Otis Lincoln, Esq., and daughter of George Stillman, of 
Machias, ]\Ie., an officer of the Revolution ; by whom he had one son, 
James, and three daughters, one of whom married Prof William B. 
Rogers, of the University of Virginia, 1849 ; another daughter married 
Amos Binney, of Boston. 

Mr. Savage was a delegate to the State convention on the revision of 
the constitution in 1820, and was actively engaged in the debates. In 
a discussion on education, he remarked, the common schools are the 
children of religion, and religion not the child of town-schools. He 
hoped that the children would never succeed to destroy their mother. 
An abstract of his excellent speech against religious tests appears in 
the printed journal of the convention. 

Mr. Savage published, in the year 1825, The History of New Eng- 
land from 1630 to 1649, by John "Winthrop, first Governor of the Col- 
ony of Massachusetts Bay, from his original manuscripts : with Notes 
to illustrate the civil and ecclesiastical concerns, the geography, settle- 
ment, and institutions of the country, and the lives and manners of 
the principal planters. The learned Notes of Mr. Savage to this work 



JAMES SAVAGE. 357 

will ever rank him among the most profound antiquaries of his coun- 
try. But would it detract from the reputed candor of Mr. Savage, 
should the Notes to a new edition of this work be entirely divested of 
his own expression of sectarian feeling 7 Wlienevcr Mr. Savage has 
restored the true reading, he ha^ accompanied it with a note of ref- 
erence to the corresponding word or sentence in the first edition as 
inserted at the bottom of the page. Who will suppose that Gov. Win- 
throp could say, in speaking of a night which he was obliged to pass 
in the woods in consequence of losing his way, that it was through 
God's mercy a weary night, instead of a warm night ; or, that one 
Noddle, an honest man of Salem, was drowned while running wood in 
a canoe, instead of carrying wood ; or, lastly, that all breeches were 
made up, and the church saved from ruin beyond all expectation, 
instead of breaches 1 The good sense and impartiality of Mr, Savage's 
comments form a singular contrast to the strong and unqualified par- 
tiality too often extended by editors towards authors Avhom they have 
labored to render famous. 

The last days of James Savage are devoted to antiquarian research, 
" During the summer of 1842," says he, " in a visit to England, I was 
chiefly occupied with searching for materials to illustrate our early 
annals ; and, although disappointment was a natural consequence of 
some sanguine expectations, yet labor was followed by success in sev- 
eral. Accident threw in my way richer acquisitions, which were 
secured Avith diligence." These comprise gleanings from New Eng- 
land history, extending along one hundred pages in the Massachusetts 
Historical Collections, of names of early settlers, extracts from records, 
and an account of rare books and tracts written in New England. May 
the shade of Prince environ our antiquary ! His last, best days are 
intensely devoted, both by day and sometimes to the last hour of night, 
in preparing an elaborate work exhibiting the early genealogy of the 
first settlers of New England ; and no subtle divine or civilian ever 
followed up the minutest point of doubt with more conscientious regard 
to accuracy, which will render him the most eminent genealogist in 
America. The very exordium to the oration of Mr. Savage, at the 
head of this article, exhibits the ruling passion of his mind ; for he 
says : "If the accidental advantage of generous birth may well be a 
cause of congratulation to an individual, how greatly ought we to 
exult, my countrymen, on a review of our national origin ! Descended 
from the only people to whom Heaven has afibrded the enjoyment of 



358 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

liberty, Avith a well-balanced government, the means of securing its 
continuance in an age of general refinement, in a season of universal 
peace, our fathers began the controversy which ended in the glorious 
event that we this day celebrate." 

Mr. Savage published, in the New England Magazine for 1832, a 
History of the Adoption of the Constitution of Massachusetts, a per- 
formance of great merit. In the paragraph on popular representation 
in the Legislature, of which he had been a member, he remarks : 
" Twenty years ago I had a right to a seat here, when the representa- 
tives were seven hundred ; and one town favored the commonwealth 
with its delegate whose constituents were so few that, had an equal pro- 
portion through the State been allowed to show equal kindness, the num- 
ber would have exceeded five thousand and three hundred. A stranger 
might have been astonished at the manner in which Mr. Kuhn, the 
doorkeeper, performed his anxious duty ; and he would perhaps have 
irreverently said, that the members had been subjected to the treatment 
which carcasses undergo from the inspector-general of provisions. 

"In the diminution of the State, by the loss of Maine," continues 
Mr. Savage, in a note, "the relative weight of Hull has increased. 
Instead of one five thousand three hundred and twentieth, it is now 
one three thousand and eighteenth of the whole. But it has had no 
representative since, and I presume never had before." The Avell- 
known accuracy of Mr. Savage is proverbial. We know not the man 
of more scrupulous nicety ; but in this point of Hull he is off his 
guard. The editor of this work, being descended of the far-famed 
peninsula, of which is an old saying, "As goes Hull, so goes the 
State," feels some ambition that its representation be accurately stated. 
The General Court records show that Hull sent John Loring as its rep- 
resentative in 1692 ; the venerable Benjamin Cushing in 1810 ; and 
since 1812, Samuel Loring, the justice of Hull, who was also of the 
house in the two years previous. The facetious editor of the Boston 
Courier, Mr. Kettelle, whose sprightly articles over the signature of 
Peeping Tom at Hull have extended its fame, said of this watering- 
place : " While stands the Pickcrelffium, Hull stands; when falls the 
Pickerelasum, Hull foils ; and when Hull falls, then roof and rafter 
of Boston town come tumbling after." 

One of the most profound instances of antiquarian research in James 
Savage appears in his argument on ancient and modern dating, com- 
prising the report of a committee of the Pilgrim Society, of which he was 



JAMES SAVAGE. 859 

chairman, on the question of the day to be observed as that of the 
landing of the Plymouth Pilgrims. It has been stated that the Hon. 
Judf^e Davis urged an attention to this subject in the year 1830, being 
of opinion that the date was Dec. 21, instead of the day usually cele- 
brated. Moreover, it is stated in the Perpetual Calendar for Old and 
New Style, prepared by Dr. Nathaniel B. Shurtleflf, printed in 1848 : 
" Our Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth on Monday, the 11th day 
of December, 1620, 0. S. By the New Style, this occurrence would 
be on Monday, Dec. 21, 1620, and not on Dec. 22, as was erroneously 
adopted at Plymouth, at the first celebration of that event. This error 
arose by adopting the correction of eleven days, in use after the year 
1700, it not being noticed that this event happened in the previous cen- 
tury, when ten days only were required." The protracted existing 
doubts on this point induced the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth to 
appoint a committee, Dec. 15, 1849, to consider the expediency of cel- 
ebrating in future the landing of the Pilgrims on the 21st day of 
December, instead of the 22d day. The learned report, prepared by 
Mr. Savage, tending to establish the former date, was unanimously 
accepted by the committee : and accepted unanimously, also, by the 
Pilgrim Society, May 27, 1850. Mr. Savage enlarges, moreover, in 
this document, which should be perpetuated in the Collections of the 
Massachusetts Historical Society, on mistakes in relation to the date of 
the surrender of Louisburg, to the date of the landing of Endicott, in 
Salem, of the landing of Winthrop in Charlestown, of the naming of 
Boston, which Judge Davis ascertained in 1830, and to the mistake ofi 
the Historical Society regarding the period of the confederation of the 
four New England colonies. And, in conclusion, Mr. Savage very pleas- 
antly remarks : " Why should we celebrate a day later, for that of our 
fathers' landing ? The truth should be good enough for us ; and that 
is the only reason for preference of one day to another. When, by 
habit, the right day has become the day of reverence, it will be won- 
dered why the wrong was so often observed." Indeed, we cannot leave 
this subject without noticing an error of the American xintiquarian 
Society, alluded to in the Perpetual Calendar, in adopting Oct. 23, 
1492, as the date of the discovery of America by Columbus, for the 
annual meeting of the society, instead of Oct. 21, which was the actual 
date, and arising from the same cause as that of the Pilgrim Society. 
We hope this investigation will prevent the recurrence of similar 
mistakes, and, with Shakspeare, — 



360 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

" Let 's take tlie instant by the forward top ; 
For -we are old, and on our quick'st decrees 
The inaudible and noiseless foot of time 
Steals, ere we can effect them." 

Mr. Savage is a man of untiring industry. He prepared the 
index to the Ancient Charter and Laws of Massachusetts Bay, and 
revised the vrork for the press, published in 1814, He edited Paley's 
works, and the press-work of American State papers, i>i ten volumes, 
selected by John Quincy Adams. He is president of the Massachu- 
setts Historical Society, and editor of a few volumes of its Historical 
Collections, and contributor of many valuable articles in that work, and 
in the Boston Daily Advertiser. He is a member of the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences, of the New York Historical Society ; 
and is a vice-president, and has been treasurer, of the Provident Insti- 
tution for Savings in Boston, of which he was the principal originator, 
on its foundation, in 1816. 



HENRY ALEXANDER SCAMMELL DEARBORN. 

JULY 4, ISn. FOR THE BUNKER HILL ASSOCIATION. 

In this performance of Gen. Dearborn, delivered in the presence also 
of the State executive, he remarks : "On Bunker's ever-memorable 
heights was fii'st displayed the lofty spirit of invincible patriotism which 
impelled the adventurous soldier to brave the severest hardships of the 
tented field, and endure in northern chmes the rugged toils of war 
uncanopied from the boreal storm and rude inclemencies of Canadian 
winters. On that American Thermopyljie, where, wrapt in the dim 
smoke of wanton conflagration, fought the assembled sovereigns of their 
native soil, the everlasting bulwarks of freedom, and thrice rolled back 
the tremendous tide of war, was evinced that unconquerable intrepid- 
ity, that national ardor and meritorious zeal, which secured victory on 
the plains of Saratoga, stormed the ramparts of Yorktown, and bore 
the bannered eagle in triumph from the shores of the Atlantic to the 
furthest confines of the wilderness. 

" By that destructive battle were awakened the most exalted facul- 
ties of the mind. Reason, unrestrained, burst forth in the plenitude 



HENRY ALEXANDER SCAMMELL DEARBORN. 361 

of its effulgence. Man, regenerated and disenthralled, beat down the 
walls of slavish incarceration, and trampled on the broken chains of 
regal bondage. The vast resources of an emancipated people were 
called into generous exertion. An enthusiastic spirit of independence 
glowed in every breast, and spread the uncontaminated sentiments of 
emulative freemen over the broad extent of an exasperated republic. 
The united energies of a virtuous people were strenuously directed to 
the effectual accomplishment of national independence. During those 
portentous times were achieved the most honorable deeds which are 
inscribed on the ever-during records of fame. Stimulated by accumu- 
lating wrongs, and elated by the purest feelings of anticipated success. 
no disastrous events could check the progress of their arms, — no fas- 
cinating allurements deflect them from that honorable path which they 
had sworn to pursue, or perish in the hazardous attempt. Inspired by 
the guardian genius of Liberty, no barriers could oppose their impet- 
uous career. Like the ' Pontic Sea, whose icy current and compul- 
sive course ne'er feels retiring ebb,' the irrefluent tide of freedom rolls 
unrestrained. By the courageous virtue of our illustrious heroes were 
secured those inestimable blessings which we have since enjoyed. To 
the warriors and statesmen of the Revolution are we indebted for all 
those distinguished privileges which place the citizens of the United 
States beyond the predatory vengeance of ruthless oppression. This 
invaluable inheritance is the prize of slaughter acquired by the lives 
of contending freemen, secured with the blood of battling patriots." 

The father of Gen. Dearborn, who was in the battle of Bunker 
Hill, and a captain in Col. Stark's regiment, relates that, being desti- 
tute of ammunition, the regiment formed in front of a house occupied 
as an arsenal, where each man received a gill-cup full of powder, fifteen 
balls, and one flint. The several captains were then ordered to march 
their companies to their respective quarters, and make up their powder 
and ball into cartridges, with the greatest possible despatch. As there 
were scarcely two muskets in a company of equal calibre, it was nec- 
essary to reduce the size of the balls for many of them ; and as but a 
small proportion of the men had cartridge-boxes, the remainder made 
use of powder-horns and ball-pouches. Every platoon-ofiicer was 
engaged in discharging his own musket, and left his men to fire as 
they pleased, but never without a sure aim at some particular object. 
He did not see a man quit his post during the action ; and did not 
believe a single soldier who was brought into the field fled until the 
31 



362 TUE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

whole army vras obliged to retreat for want of powder and ball. It is 
a most extraordinary fact, that the British did not make a single charge 
during the battle ; Avhich, if attempted, would have been decisive and 
fatal to the Americans, as they did not carry into the field fifty bay- 
onets. In his company there was but one. Not an ofiicer or sol- 
dier of the continental troops engaged was in uniform, but were in the 
plain and ordinary dress of citizens ; nor was there an officer on horse- 
back. 

Henry A. S. Dearborn was born in Exeter, N. II., March 3, 1783 ; 
was the son of Gen. Henry, who married Dorcas Osgood, March 28, 
1780. He early entered WilliamstOAvn Academy; was first a student 
at Williamstown College ; entered, in advance, at William and Mary's 
College, Williamsburgh, Va., where he graduated in 1803. He 
studied law under Hon. Wilham Wirt, and closed his course with 
Judge Story, of Salem ; begun the practice of law in Portland, in 
1806, and married Hannah Swett, a daughter of Col. William R. Lee, 
of Marblehead, at Salem, Mass., May 3, 1807. He became a coun- 
sellor-at-law ; was deputy-collector of Boston, under his father, in 
1811, and his successor as collector of the port of Boston in 1813, 
Avhich station he occupied until the appointment of David Ilen- 
shaw, in 1830. Gen. Dearborn delivered the oration on our national 
independence, July 4, 1811, for the Bunker Hill Association; which, 
with the Republican Society, Avere merged in a new society, called the 
Washington Society, of which Charles Hood was the first president. He 
was commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, in 
1816 ; was brigadier-general of the Massachusetts militia, in 1814 ; 
was a member from Roxbury of the convention for revising the State 
constitution, 1820. He was a Roxbury representative in 1830; of 
the Governor's Council, of the State Senate, from Norfolk, 1831, and 
a member of Congress in 1832. He was also the adjutant-general 
of Massachusetts, 1835. In 1847 Gen. Dearborn Avas the second 
elected INIayor of Roxbury, which station he honored to the day of his 
decease, July 29, 1851. 

The reports of the speeches of Gen. Dearborn, in the journal of the 
convention of 1820, evince force of argument and political sagacity. 
In his speech on religious tests, he remarked that political opinions 
were not subject to a test, — why should those upon rehgion be subject to 
any 7 They had no right to compel a man to throw open the portals 
of the mind, and discover his religious sentiments. He trusted such 



HENRY ALEXANDER SCAMMELL DEARBORN. 363 

oppression would not prevail in this free and enlightened country. 
There was no authority for it in the Scriptures ; and it was not until 
the third century that persons raised to civil offices were required to 
believe in any particular religious creed. He had heard it said that 
this test will exclude immoral and wicked men from office. He asked 
if such had been the eifect of tests in other countries. The offer of a 
sceptre had induced princes to cross themselves, or to throw off their 
allegiance to the Pope, just as suited their views of aggrandizement. 
In England a man goes to take the sacrament, not to repent of his 
sins, but because he is chosen First Lord of the Treasury. The Dec- 
laration of Independence which proclaims, and the United States con- 
stitution which prescribes, our rights, require no test — no reason 
requires a test in the State constitution. 

The origin of the Rural Cemetery at Mount Auburn may be traced 
to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, whose anniversary discourse 
he delivered September, 1828 ; and was its first president, when a com- 
mittee was selected to devise measures for this purpose, in connection 
with an experimental garden. Gen. Dearborn, while president of this 
society, was chairman of this committee, and prepared a report, in 
which an extensive and able exposition was made of the advantages of 
the undertaking; and, on the 8th of June, 1831, another committee, 
of which Gen. Dearborn was a member, Avas appointed to forward this 
object, — and for sixty days a horse and chaise was ready at his door, 
that he might traverse the grounds and execute the design. On Sept. 
24th, of the same year, the cemetery was consecrated, and Hon. Judge 
Story gave an eloquent address on the occasion; and much credit 
should be conceded to Gen. Dearborn for the architectural and rural 
taste exhibited in the order of Mount Auburn Cemetery. The city 
of Roxbury is under peculiar obligation to Mayor Dearborn as tlie 
originator of Forest Hills Cemetery, consecrated June 28, 1848. In 
allusion to this noble repository of the dead, the honored Mayor Dear- 
born remarks of it as "a retired, umbrageous, magnificent, and sacred 
garden, which will continually augment the number and variety of 
funereal monuments, as well as insure the erection of such other struc- 
tures as may be deemed expedient, and so capacious as to entirely 
supersede the occasion for any other burial-place in that city." 

Mayor Dearborn, of Roxbury, had accumulated ninety volumes of 
manuscript, largely of his own production ; among which is the Life 
and Times of Maj. Gen. Henry Dearborn, including an extensive cor- 



364 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

respondence with the greatest men of our country, in eleven volumes. 
He had written a Diary, or journal of his own life and times, and cor- 
respondence with famous men, in forty-five volumes. He had written 
Grecian Architecture, in two volumes folio ; a volume on Flowers, 
with drawings, and compiled a Harmony of the Life of Christ, 8vo., 
prepared for the instruction of his children, when they were educated. 
He had written the Memoirs of Commodore William Bainbridge, in 
400 pages ; a History of the Battle of Bunker Hill, in several hundred 
pages of quarto, besides literary and scientific w^orks. He was author, 
moreover, of the Memoirs of Col. William Pt. Lee, in two volumes 
quarto. Gen. Dearborn had an extensive library in his romantic cot- 
tage in Roxbury, Avhere the intervals of leisure were devoted to his 
diary and literary research. AVould that he had lived to complete the 
hundredth volume of mental power ! No man in New England was 
more devoted to literature and science. He had great force of intel- 
lect, and a large share of varied learning. His unpublished produc- 
tions will add new illustrations to American history, and would be a 
valuable legacy to the Massachusetts Historical Society, should they 
never be published. The most valuable work ever printed of which 
he was the author is the History of the Commerce of the Black Seas, 
in two volumes octavo, which has a high character in the North Amer- 
ican Review of 1820. Should his residence be destroyed by fire, with 
all the manuscripts, it would cause a vacuum that never can be filled. 

In the peroration of Dr. Putnam's eulogy on Gen. Dearborn we 
find this glowing passage: "Lie lightly upon his bosom, ye clods of 
the valley; for he trod softly on you, in loving regard for every green 
thing that ye bore ! Bend benignantly over him, je towering trees of 
the forest, and soothe his slumbers with the whisperings of your sweet- 
est requiem ; for he loved you as his very brothers of God's garden, 
and nursed you, and knew almost every leaf on your boughs ! Guard 
sacredly his ashes, ye steep, strong clifis that gird his grave ; for ye 
were the altars at which he worshipped the Almighty One, who 
planted you there in your strength." 

Mayor Dearborn was a member of the American Antiquarian Soci- 
ety, Massachusetts Historical Society, New England Genealogical 
Historic Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Amer- 
ican Association for Advancement of Science. 



BENJAMIN POLLARD. 365 

BENJAMIN POLLARD. 

JULY i, 1812. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

The ancestor of this family was William Pollard, whose wife, Anne 
, died in Boston, Dec. 6, 1725, aged one hundred and five 



years, and left of her offspring one hundred and thirty. She used to 
relate that she went over in the first boat that crossed Charles River, 
in 1630, to what has since been called Boston ; that she was the first 
that jumped ashore ; and she described the place as being at that time 
very uneven, abounding in small hollows and swamps, and covered with 
blueberry and other bushes. In the library of the Massachusetts His- 
torical Society is a portrait of this centenarian, taken in 1723, pre- 
sented by Isaac Winslow, Esq. Col. Benjamin Pollard, a member of 
the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in 1726, Sheriff of 
Suffolk for thirteen years, and founder of the Boston Cadets in 1744, 
whose portrait is also in the Historical Society, was father of Col. 
Jonathan Pollard, who married Mary Johnson; was a goldsmith, whose 
shop adjoined that of the bookstore of Gen. Knox, and in 1777 was an 
aid-de-camp to the latter in the Revolutionary War ; and Benjamin, 
the subject of this notice, was his son, born in Boston in 1780, on the 
site of the Tremont Temple. His teacher was Francis Nichols, in 
Scollay's Buildings, who was an importer of books from London. He 
was Clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1811 
to 1815. He was secretary of the State convention for revising the 
constitution, in 1820 ; and was the City Marshal of Boston from its 
incorporation, in 1822, until his decease, November, 1836, aged fifty- 
six. 

Marshal Pollard Avas very partial to polite literature and politics, 
and was the reputed editor of two periodicals, — the Emerald, and the 
Ordeal, — which, it is said, went down at no distant period from each 
other. Ignorant of this fact, a literary stranger inquired of Robert 
Treat Paine " what rank this gentleman held among the literati." 
Paine answered, "He possesses the greatest literary execution of any 
man in America. Two journals have perished under his hands, in six 
months." The Ordeal was first issued in January, 1809, in connec- 
tion with Joseph T. Buckingham ; and its objects were, to attack the 
Democratic party, to review and ridicule the small literary publica- 
31* 



366 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS, 

tions of the press, and to discipline the children of Thespis. Pollard 
was a vigorous writer. His letters, reviews, and essays on political 
topics, evinced rare ability. He was an admirer of Ames, Hamilton, 
Strong, Gore, Lowell, and other Federal authors, and a real hater of 
Jefferson, Madison, and the Avritcrs in the Independent Chronicle. He 
wrote a review of Giles' speech in the U. S. Senate, on the resolution 
of Hillhouse to repeal the embargo laws. He addressed, in part, a 
series of letters to Madison, signed "Marcus Brutus." He wrote on 
.the " Spanish cause," Napoleon being then at war Avith that country 
and showed much vituperation. The political articles in this periodi- 
cal were in a tone of caustic and vindictive censure, and "rather 
upphed to personages of scale and office," said Mr. Pollard, "than 
to individuals who, however they might have deserved, have found 
protection in insignificance." 

Mr. Pollard, though not possessing a liberal share of charity toward 
his pohtical opponents, gave peculiar evidence of a warm spirit of 
benevolence in the cause of common humanity. He remarked, in an 
address for a charitable society : "As the faculty of speech marks the 
chief distinction between man and the brute creation, so the sympathies 
of his heart are the elevating qualities which exalt him to a rank 
among celestial beings. And perhaps the divinity of his origin and 
his destiny is in nothing more fully evinced than in the relief which 
he extends to his fellow-men in the various vicissitudes of their lives. 
The majesty of his soul expands by the natural enlargement of his 
charity, which comprehends the whole human race within its folds ; 
his grovelling appetites and passions are left at an infinite distance 
below him, and though his feet are fixed upon earth, yet his ethereal 
essence is combining with congenial spirits in the skies. His common 
feelings extend beyond the reach of the sudden impulses of ordinary 
men, as a great river is always superior to a smaller stream, however 
swelled by accidental accumulations." Mr. Pollard was an early editor 
of the Boston Evening Gazette, and his talent was mostly devoted to 
dramatic criticism in that paper. A friend wrote of him, in the 
Gazette, after his decease, that he had the ready wit of Garrick, and 
more dignity than Sterne. 

Marshal Pollard had the qualities of an orator. His enunciation 
was clear and sonorous, and he for many years read in a manly and 
eloquent manner the "Declaration of Independence" at Fourth-of- 
July celebrations, previous to the delivery of an oration by a speaker 



EDWARD ST. LOE LIVERMORE. 86T 

for the occasion. The oration of Mr. Pollard at the head of this article 
■was not printed. Russell's Centinel remarked that the prayer of Rev. 
Mr. Hollej, and the oration, were peculiarly pertinent, animating and 
patriotic. Mr. Pollard was about six feet in height, with rather a 
bending of the shoulders. He was highly accomplished in manners, 
and a finished gentleman. With what graceful ease and dignity he 
performed the ceremony of introducing the citizens of Boston to the 
admired Lafayette, in the Doric hall of the State House, August, 
1824, is strong in the memory of many who enjoyed the honor. The 
refined taste and social qualities of JNIarshal Pollard were better suited 
for the drawing-room than for the purlieus of the City Hall, or the 
duties of a police-oflficer. Marshal Pollard, though amply qualified to 
devnse projects for the prevention of crime, had not the efiiciency to 
execute them. His successors were, Parkman, Weston, Blake, Gibbs, 
and Tukey. It may be a question whether Francis Tukey is to the 
municipality what Fouche was to the court of Napoleon ; but can there 
be a doubt that he is the Eugene Vidocq of New England, as regards 
the vigilant detection of ofienders? 



EDWARD ST. LOE LIVERMORE. 

JULY 4, 1813. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Was born at Holderness, N. H., where he resided in 1815. He 
graduated at Dartmouth College in 1800; was a counsellor-at-law ; 
and married Sarah Creese, daughter of William Stackpole, a merchant 
of Boston. Was U. S. Attorney to the Circuit Court ; a member of 
Congress for Essex county, Mass., 180G to 1812. Was a judge of 
the Superior Court of New Hampshire. Was a resident of Boston 
in 1813. Miss Harriet Livermore, the celebrated lecturer, was his 
daughter. When at Portsmouth, he gave an oration on the dissolution 
of the political union between the United States and France, in 1799 ; 
and an oration on the embargo law, Jan. 6, 1809. He died at 
Tewksbury, Sept. 22, 1832, aged seventy. 



368 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

BENJAMIN WHITWELL. 

JULY 4, 1814, FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

"Was born at Boston, June 22, 1772; entered the Latin School in 
1779 ; graduated at Harvard College in 1790 ; was a counsellor-at- 
law ; and married Lucy Scollaj, May, 1808. Was deputy Secretary 
of State in 1816 ; was poet for the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cam- 
bridge in 1806 ; and died at Hallowell, April 5, 1825. In 1799, at 
Augusta, he gave a eulogy on Washington. 



HORACE HOLLEY. 

APRIL 30, 1815. FOR THE WASHINGTON BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. 

This institution was organized Feb. 22, 1812. on which occasion 
Gen. Arnold Welles was elected president, and William Sullivan, 
Josiah Quincy, Henry Purkitt, Daniel Messenger, Francis J. Oliver, 
and Benjamin Russell, were elected vice-presidents. The Washington 
Benevolent Society was originated, it is said, in the office of Nathan 
Hale, attorney-at-law, No. 12 E.xchange-street. The object of this 
society was to cherish and disseminate the principles of Washington, 
and to establish a fund for the aid of those unfortunate members of the 
institution who are reduced by the pressure of the times to a state of 
poverty. To effect its objects, they held monthly meetings for debate 
at the E.xchange Coffee-house, when political speeches were delivered 
by our first men. The meetings were free to all parties. Political 
editors and party leaders attended ; and the society soon increased to 
more than two thousand members. An oration was delivered annually 
on the 30th of April, in honor of the inauguration of Washington. 
The admission fee was two dollars, to constitute a member. The 
orations were pronounced until the peace of Dec. 22, 1815 ; and 
its orators were Sullivan, Quincy, Bigelow and Holley, whose per- 
formances, with the exception of the latter, were printed. The 



HORACE HOLLEY. 369 

oration of Holley was delivered in the Old South Church. Rus- 
sell, of the Centinel. remarked of this performance, that it comprised a 
full and able commentary upon the principles professed by the disciples 
of Washington ; an application of them to the recent events which have 
occurred since the elevation of the JefFersonian administration, etc. 
It is highly probable that the Hartford Convention owes its origin 
more especially to this institution than to the Essex Junto. In the 
absence of Holley' s oration, we will introduce a beautiful passage from 
an unpublished manuscript of his, which we have recently perused, 
where, in enlarging on truly great minds of varied influence, he lastly 
introduces Washington, " whose judgment presides over almost every 
other power, where there is but httle or no preeminence of genius ; 
where there is no attempt at invention, at great and comprehensive 
ar"-uments in form ; Avhere wonder and novelties have nothing to do 
Avith the decisions for practice ; where experiment is so mingled with 
the tried result of past years as not to be distinguished ; where there 
is a clear knowledge of character in the individual state, and an unri- 
valled judgment to collect, sift, separate, and use for the most valu- 
able purposes, the information thus obtained. Such was the mind of 
Washington, — and here I stop, declaring the most gratified admira- 
tion, and uttering the most fervent prayers for the wider diffusion of 
this uncommon class of minds." 

In the procession of this institution were four hundred boys, in a 
uniform dress, decorated with wreaths and garlands, each one bearing 
on his breast a copy of Washington's Legacy, in a morocco-bound 
miniature volume, suspended by a ribbon. An elegant standard, and 
twenty banners, were borne by twenty-one youths, on each of which 
were inscribed patriotic mottoes. These sons of Sparta were drilled 
for parade in Faneuil Hall ; and a complete record of their names, 
preserved by Lemuel Blake, Esq., one of the managers, and a treas- 
urer of the society, is appended to this volume. 

This institution was watched with a keen eye of jealousy. In the 
Boston Gazette of May 2, 1814, we find an impromptu, on hearing an 
"envious" Democrat boast of the success of his prayers for rain to 
drench the Washington roses, on the day of the procession : 

'« Cease, railer ! thy prayer is both foolish and vain, 
The Washington rose-tree is safe from disaster ; 
The gentle eflFasion of April's soft rain 
Will nourish its root, and expand its buds faster. 



870 TUE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Nor think for the cloud-mantled sun that it grieves, — 

It shall flourish when nature's bright glories are ended ; 
Transplanted to heaven, its odorous leaves 

Shall breathe their perfume where its Patron 's ascended. 
From eternity's soil the Washington rose 

Shall draw its nutrition, its bloom never fading, 
While the poisonous plant that in Erebus grows 

Shall reward, wretched slave, thy profane gasconading ! " 

The eloquence of Horace Holley, on the delivery of a sermon before 
the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, in 1811, was so over- 
powering, that a spontaneous acclamation burst forth from the crowd 
that thronged the doors of the church. He was born at Salisbury, 
Conn., Feb. 13, 1781, and graduated at Yale College in 1803. On 
leaving college, he studied law under Peter W. RadclifF, Esq., of New 
York ; and in 1804 he engaged in the study of divinity with President 
Dwight, at New Haven, and married Mary, daughter of Stephen 
Austin, of that city, when he was settled at Greenfield Hill, Fairfield. 
He was at that period a Trinitarian. In 1809 he became an avowed 
Unitarian, and Avas the successor of Rev. Dr. West, of the Hollis- 
street Church, in Boston. In 1812 he was chaplain of the House of 
Representatives, and one of the school committee. 

The ancestor of Horace Holley was one of the early settlers of Con- 
necticut, — probably John Holley, a selectman of Stamford in 1642. 
An absurd attempt has been made to trace his descent from Edmund 
Halley, the eminent astronomer of England, who died in 1741, a 
gi-eat- grandson of whom was said to be Luther Holley, the father of 
the subject of this outline. 

Mr. Holley was warmly interested in the old Federal party, but 
never spoke at a political caucus ; and it is related of him, that, after 
attending a debate in Faneuil Hall, which he entered arm in arm with 
Samuel Dexter, his personal friend, who decidedly opposed the expe- 
diency of the Hartford Convention, Mr. Holley devoted the forenoon 
service of the next Sabbath to an argum.ent in favor of its objects, 
pouring out, in strains of eloquence that captivated the audience, one 
half-hour longer than the usual period. His mind was also intensely 
absorbed in morals and manners ; and on another Sabbath he enlarged 
in an exposition of the nature and character of the morals and 
maxims of the famous Marquis de Rochefoucault, without any reference 
to the Holy Scriptures for a text from which to preach. He was 
frequently solicited to publish a sermon, by his parishioners, and also 



HORACE HOLLEY. 3T1 

for the loan of a manuscript ; but he uniformly declined the former, 
and rarely consented to the latter. However, to oblige one of his 
devoted friends, — Mr. Jackson, — who was a candle-maker, and often 
made him the gift of a box of candles, — urging the favor of an inter- 
change of light, — he occasionally consented to the request. A female 
domestic once surreptitiously secreted a manuscript sermon of his 
under the carpet in his study, which was copied, and then replaced. 

Dr. Holley was a fine mechanical genius. Calling, one time, on his 
bootmaker, — one Mr. Barker, — to settle an account, he offered the 
man a fifty-dollar bill to be exchanged, who directlj^ sent a boy to 
obtain small bills for it ; on Avhich, Dr. Holley forthwith seated him- 
self on the bench, stitching a shoe with ready facility. The bootmaker 
jocosely remarked to the divine that he ought to pay for the use of 
the block. After paying his bill. Dr. Holley very pleasantly thrcAV 
a piece of silver on the bench, and politely withdrew from the shop. 
This incident is worthy of Mather Bjdes, his witty predecessor. 

On the 22d December, 1817, Dr. Holley delivered the anniversary 
discourse on the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth ; and 
Thacher, in the History of Plymouth, relates that the well-known ora- 
torical powers of Dr. Holley were exerted in the happiest manner, and 
afforded great delight and satisfaction to his numerous auditors. He 
contemplated the scenery about our harbor, our burial-hill, and the 
rock ; and held a conversation with Dea. Spooner, in the morning, 
which roused the best energies of his nature, and nerved his faculties 
to their noblest display. In the discourse, he observed that he had 
that morning received some new recollections, and made the following 
allusion to the venerable Dea. Spooner : "Our venerable friend knew 
and conversed with Elder Faunce, Avho personally knew the first set- 
tlers : so Polycarp conversed with St. John, the beloved disciple of 
our Saviour." On this occasion, Dea. Spooner ofiiciated by reading 
the Psalm in the ancient form, line by line, — and thus closed the 
religious services of this venerable man, who for so many years had 
constantly been seen in the " deacon's seat " in the sanctuary of God, 
and who died March 22, 1818, in the eighty-third year of his age. 

In 1818 Dr. Holley was elected president of Transylvania Univer- 
sity, in Lexington, Kentucky. This passage from the golden ore of 
Holley, brilliant as the hues of the rainbow, is gleaned from his 
funeral eulogy over the remains of Col. James Morrison, the most 
munificent benefactor of this university, printed at Lexington, in 1823 : 



372 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

" When I look over the history of the public institutions of our coun- 
try, — especially of those devoted to the great cause of education, — I 
find^ among their donors, their patrons, the founders of professorships, 
the names of those who have been most distinguished for their patriot- 
ism, their liberal opinions, their services to the state, and their effective 
philanthropy. "Washington, Adams, Franklin, Rumford, and Dexter, 
among a host of others less distinguished, might be mentioned, as a 
few of that glorious class of American benefactors and philanthropists 
to which Morrison has so honorably added his name. Not many have 
surpassed him in the extent of their munificence, and most are left far 
behind. 

"It deserves to be noted that the venerable sage of Monticello, after 
having spent years as a diplomatist abroad, — after having witnessed 
and enjoyed the diversified resources of a European life, — after being 
raised to the highest honors of his country, and crowned with the 
wreath of imperishable glory, — after having drank at the fountains of 
enjoyment in almost every mode of existence, — has at last devoted 
himself, with the ardor of a young enthusiast, and with the perse- 
verance of a veteran in philanthropy, to the most glorious of all the 
public enterprises of Virginia, the establishment, completion and 
endowment, of her State university. What an example is this to 
illustrate the usefulness of age, the dignity of retirement, the results 
of experience, the worth of human nature, the value of mind, and an 
effectual honorable preparation for eternity ! The patriot, scholar and 
philanthropist, of Quincy, too, finds no appropriation of the gifts of 
fortune so dear to his heart, in the frosts of age and on the verge of 
the grave, as that Avhich lays a foundation for the permanent union of 
literature, philosophy, and religion. What a spectacle for European 
potentates to behold is thus furnished by the plain but enlightened and 
truly noble servants of our republic, in private life ! What a contrast 
do these beneflictions for the best of all purposes exhibit to the blood- 
stained career of mad ambition ; to the selfish, haughty, and cruel doc- 
trines of legitimacy ; to the luxuries, debaucheries, effeminacy, and 
decapitations, of too many of the crowned pageants that glitter through 
a short and oppressive reign, and are known afterwards only for their 
w^ant of capacity, usefulness, and virtue ! 0, my country ! long mayst 
thou boast of thy free institutions, thy equal laws, thy simple man- 
ners, thy hardy and independent spirit, thy active patriots, and thy 
honored statesmen, — not only in public but in private hfe." 



HORACE HOLLET. 373 

The above production, together with a review of Ely's Contrast of 
Hopkinsianism and Calvinism, an article in the Western Review, and 
a few articles embraced in the memoir of his life, are nearly all that 
remain of his mental efforts. The most successful result of the genius 
of Gilbert Stuart was the portrait of Horace Holley, finished in 1818, 
on the day when he left Boston for his elevated station in the west. It 
was executed for James Barker. Esq., one of his parishioners. Stuart 
was so delighted with the painting, that he exclaimed to Mr. Barker, 
"I never wish to paint him again. This is the only picture I ever 
painted that I have no desire to alter; I am entirely satisfied with it." 
A friend conversing with Sprague, the poet, regarding this inimitable 
likeness, advised him to go and see it, for it was worth a pilgrimage of 
five miles on foot. Sprague replied, " I will go and see it." Our 
poet remarked that he was not accustomed to speak of handsome men, 
'• but I Avill say that Horace Holley was a man of great personal mas- 
culine beauty." When he ascended the pulpit, in his flowing gown, 
and, assuming the air and attitude of the orator, bold and expressive, 
threw his eyes around him on the gazing audience, the scene itself 
was eloquent. "His voice was mellow, rich, and silver-toned, thrill- 
ing at times," says Caldwell, in the eulogium, " with the very essence 
of melody." His enunciation was clear, distinct, and aptly varied. 
His manner was graceful and animated, and his action was so effective 
that the whole audience would be irresistibly overpoAvered. Holley 
was, as one remarked, a sun in the firmament of pulpit eloquence, at 
whose appearance "all the constellations pass away, and make no 
noise." His widow graphically said of him, in the beautiful memoir 
which she published, that "he had clear and bright, yet expressive, 
black eyes. His hair, in his youth, was black, fine, and silky. As he 
advanced in life, it gradually retreated from his fair, polished forehead, 
until but a remnant was left upon one of the most classic heads ever 
displayed to view." What Holley once remarked of Whitofield well 
applies to himself, that he has left his fame to rest upon the record of 
his own personal eloquence ; and it may be safely asserted that Still- 
man and Holley were the most eloquent pastors that ever graced the 
Boston pulpit 

President Holley resigned the oversight of the university in 1827, 

with the expectation of an invitation to a new church in Boston. On 

his passage from New Orleans to New York, he died of the yellow 

fever, July 31, 1827, at the early age of forty-six years. His widow 

32 



14 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

has proved her devotion to the memory of her husband more affect- 
ingly than if she had mingled his ashes in her cup, said one, and drank 
them, to keep his remains ever near her heart. How exquisitely pathetic 
is her burning narrative of his last moments at sea ! "Rest and quiet- 
ness M'ere out of the question," says Mrs. Holley ; "a still, dark room, a 
bed of suitable dimensions, "with constant and careful attendants, — any 
one circumstance included in the word Jio7ne, had been more than lux- 
ury. Let those who would learn the full meaning of that dearest of all 
names experience a distressing, paralyzing illness at sea, and they will 
know its full import. Hitherto, no one had expressed a fear of dan- 
gerous disease on board, so little do we feel and understand impending 
evil. It now became calm, and there was time and opportunity to 
attend to the suffering and helpless. The danger of Dr. Holley's sit- 
uation became too apparent. His eyes were half closed — his mind 
wandering. The same medicines were repeated, the doses doubled, 
and all other means of relief applied, which the kind-hearted, though 
unskilled, in their goodness could command. The disease, which in 
its early stages might, perhaps, have been checked, had now acquired 
force and strength, and soon triumphed over one of the finest constitu- 
tions, as well as most brilliant of intellects. The fifth of the disease, 
and the thirty-first of the month, was the fatal day. 

" The sun rose in all the brightness and intense heat of a tropical 
region. It was a dead calm. Not a breath of air skimmed the surface 
of the sea, or fanned the burning brow of the sufferer. The writer of 
this article, who still lay in silent anguish a speechless spectator of the 
scene, expected, while conscious of anything but distress, to be the 
next victim ; and who, losing at times all sense of suffering in the 
womanish feeling occasioned by the circumstance of there not being a 
female hand to perform the last sad offices of humanity, has a confused 
recollection of horror of the solemn looks of the passengers pacing to 
and fro upon the deck ; of a deathlike stillness, broken by groans and 
half-uttered sentences ; and of a little, soft voice trying to soothe the 
last moments, and to interpret the last accents, of his dying parent. 
All this she heard, without sense enough to request to be carried to the 
spot, or to realize that it meant death. AVhen the groans and spasms 
had ceased, it seemed to be only a release from pain — a temporary 
sleep. When all was hushed, and the report of pistols and the fumes 
of burning tar announced the flital issue, trusting in that divine Being 
into whose presence she expected soon to be ushered, — believing, as far 



LEMUEL SHAW. 



375 



as reflection had exercise, tliat the separation was bat for a little space, 
— she heard with the firmness of despair, and with silent awe, the part- 
incr waters receive the scarce breathless form of him who had been her 
pride and boast, as he had been the admiration of all to whom he was 
known,— his winding-sheet a cloak, his grave the wide ocean, his mon- 
ument 'the everlasting Tortugas ! All this she heard, and lives." 

The lament of his lonely and devoted widow will ever affect the heart 
of sympathy : 

" ! had he lived to reach his native land, 

And then expired, I would have blessed the strand ; 

Bat where my husband lies I may not lie. 

I cannot come, with broken heart, to sigh 

O'er his loved dust, and strew with flowers his turf; 

His pillow hath no cover but the surf : 

I may not pour the soul-drop from mine eye 

Near his cold bed ; — he slumbers in the wave. 

! I will love the sea, because it is thy grave." 



LEMUEL SHAW. 

JULY 4, 1815. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

In the admirable performance of Chief Justice Shaw, we find an 
explanation of the opposition of a powerful party amongst us to the 
last war with Great Britain, and a magnanimous and prompt conces- 
sion that the contest has strengthened the bonds of our political union : 
"We rejoice in the belief that the danger which we once feared from 
the ascendency of French power, and the more contaminating influence 
of French principles, is forever removed. The secret spell, which 
seemed to bind us in willing chains to the conqueror's car, is forever 
broken. No sophistry can again deceive us into a belief that the cause 
of Bonaparte is the cause of social rights, or create a momentary sym- 
pathy between the champion of despotism and the friends of civil 
liberty. 

"One of the most alarming points of view in which the sincere 
opponents of the late war with England regarded that measure was, 
that it tended to cement and perpetuate that dangerous and disgraceful 



376 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

connection. The commercial restrictions of America corresponded, in 
principle and in object, viith. the continental system of France. We 
declared war at the moment when Napoleon had prepared the whole 
force of his empire to strike the last ilital blow against the liberties 
of Europe, by the conquest of Russia. Of the character of that 
war we have often expressed our strong and decided opinion ; and it 
is not my design to anticipate the sentence of censure and con- 
demnation Avhich history will pronounce on its authors. Let us 
rather turn from the revolting subject, to the more grateful task of 
contemplating the lustre which it has given occasion to shed on the 
American character. ! who shall hereafter recollect the gal- 
lantry of our little navy, the memorable exploits of our ocean heroes, 
their skill and bravery in battle, their moderation in victory, their dig- 
nity even in defeat, without higher emotions of pride and satisfaction 
in the name and character of an American 7 That navy, one of the 
few remaining fruits of better counsels, had survived only amidst the 
utter contempt and neglect of those whose administration it has since 
contributed to emblazon. But it has justified the ardent hopes and 
realized the high expectations of its early and constant friends, and 
redeemed the reputation of the country. It is now justly the favorite 
of all ; the nation are its patrons, and it must and will be cherished. 
I certainly mean to bestow the highest praise on the late American 
army, when I say that, in most instances, they have well sustained the 
high military reputation which crowned the arms of America in the 
war of the Revolution. 

' Fas est ab hoste doceri,' 

" 'If,' said Gen. Burgoyne in his memorable defence before Parlia- 
ment, ' there can be any persons who continue to doubt that the Amer- 
icans possess the quality and faculty of fighting (call it by whatever 
name they please), they are of a prejudice that it would be very absurd 
longer to contend Avith.' This reputation, the battles of Niagara, 
of Plattsburg and the Mississippi, will have no tendency to impair. 
In this review, I should do injustice to my own feelings not to mention^ 
with merited commendation, the courage, the spirit and patriotism, of 
the American militia. Sensible of the danger as well as the burthen 
of supporting a large standing force, it has been the policy of America 
to arm and discipline her citizens ; and, in cases of sudden emergency, 
to intrust the safety of the country, in some measure, to their zeal and 
courage. The vigorous defence of Plattsburg. of Baltimore and New 



LEMUEL SIIAW. 377 

Orleans, has well justified the confidence reposed in them. I may add, 
with pride and with pleasure, that the alacrity with wliich the militia 
of Massachusetts recently rallied at the call of their illustrious chief, 
in whose judgment, courage and patriotism, they justly reposed unlim- 
ited confidence, the ardor and discipline they exhibited, the patience 
and courage they manifested, proved — if proof Avere wanting — that 
the soil of freedom will never be surrendered by its proprietors, but 
with their lives." 

Lemuel Shaw was born at Barnstable, Jan. 9, 1781; and was the son 
of Rev. Oakes Shaw, the venerable pastor of the first church in that 
town, by Susanna Hayward, his second wife. At the age of fifteen 
years, young Lemuel entered Harvard College ; and, on his graduation 
in 1800, he engaged in a dialogue Avith Timothy Flint and Abiel IIol- 
brook, on the excellence of the Greek langu.age. On leaving college, 
being ambitious to disencumber his beloved father of the expenses of 
his education, he became usher at the Franklin, now the Brimmer 
School, then under the direction of the excellent Dr. Asa Bullo,rd. 
Here we cannot forbear to state that our own Charles Spi'ague, the 
immortal poet of Boston, was then a scholar at this pubhc school. 
Who can estimate the influence of such minds on youthful genius'? 
Mr. Shaw engaged in legal studies, during a period of three years, 
under the guidance of the famous David Everett, a counsellor, and 
author of the memorable poem for youthful orators, the first lines of 

which are — 

" You 'd scarce expect one of my age 
To speak in public on the stage." 

We find in Felt's Memorials of William S. Shaw a remark of Mrs. 
Peabody, his mother and a sister of Mrs. Presideiiit Adams, expressed 
in her letter to him, dated Sept. 2, 1801 : " Your cousin, Lemuel Shaw, 
is studying law in Boston. He is a superior young man." 

In 1805 Mr. Shaw was an entered attorney of Sufiblk bar. He 
was representative of Boston in the State Legislature during the entire 
period of the war with Great Britain, from 1811 to 1816 ; and, on the 
institution of the Wasliington Benevolent Society, in 1812, was elected 
its secretary. Mr. Shaw married, Jan. 6, 1818, Elizabeth, a daughter 
of Josiah Knapp, a merchant of Boston, who died ; and he married, the 
second time, Hope, a daughter of Dr. Samuel Savage, of Barnstable, 
to whom a lady made the happy allusion, — "There is Hope in the 
Judiciary," — at the centennial celebration of his native town. In 
32* 



378 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS, 

1811 he gave an address for the Massachusetts Humane Society. He 
was elected to the State convention on the revision of the constitution, 
where, in his arguments on the judiciary and other points, he evinced 
great wisdom ; and, in the year succeeding, he was one of the editors 
of the General Laws of the State, revised and adapted to the amend- 
ments of the convention. 

In the year 1822 we find Mr. Shaw in the State Senate, at which 
period he was chairman of the joint committee of the Legislature on a 
city charter for Boston. We venerate the man who devised our char- 
tered rights. It was Chief Justice Shaw, then an eminent counsellor, 
— the sage of Trimount, — who drafted the city charter, in the com- 
mittee of the town, and wrote, also, the act of incorporation establish- 
ing the city of Boston, granted by the General Court, Feb. 23, 1822, 
with the exception of the fourteenth section, regarding public theatres 
and exhibitions, and the act establishing a Police Court, which were 
drafted by Hon. William SulUvan, and went into operation at the 
same time ; both acts constituting the system of municipal govern- 
ment. The original bill for a city charter is on file in the State 
archives, and is partly in the hand- writing of Chief Justice Shaw. 

Every avenue to an invasion of the foundation of the city charter 
should be guarded with a jealous eye. At the period of its construc- 
tion, a party was strenuous that each ward should elect its own alder- 
man. This was vigorously opposed, as creating the wards into petty 
democracies, overturning the balance of power in the Council; and 
even though they be elected on a general ticket, it would lead to a 
strife of wards. In addition to a share in the legislative power of the 
Council, they are invested with important executive duties, without 
regard to local interests. Rather tolerate the minor evils of a con- 
servative charter, than endure greater by submitting to party caprice. 
In a careful, conservative spirit. Justice Shaw has avoided both the 
exclusiveness of aristocracy and the arbitrary severity of democracy, 
weaving the whole system on a purely republican basis. The argu- 
ments for the inviolate preservation of the charter urged by the elder 
Quincy tend to its perpetuity. Our city is indebted to the ocean- 
bound cape for many of its most eminent civil and mercantile men. 

Lemuel Shaw is the successor of Isaac Parker, as Chief Justice of 
the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, over which he has presided 
since his appointment under Gov. Levi Lincoln, since his inauguration 
in September, 1830, at which period he was a representative in the 



LEMUEL SHAW. 879 

State Legislature. He is senior Fellow of the Corporation of Harvard 
College, which important station he has honorably filled since his elec- 
tion, in 1834. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts 
and Sciences, of the Massachusetts Historical and of the New England 
Genealogic Historical Societies. 

During the whole period of his elevation to the head of the State 
judiciary. Justice Shaw has made records of the legal transactions 
under his superintendence, comprising nearly fifty volumes, of several 
hundred pages each, lettered " Minutes of the Massachusetts Supreme 
Judicial Court," handsomely bound in substantial Russia backs,— 
thus giving him facilities to recur to former decisions, and learn of the 
past how to operate on the present. He could not bequeath to the 
law library of Suffolk any amount of money that would compare with 
the inestimable value of such a legacy as these volumes of Court 
Decisions. 

With the exception of Theophilus Parsons, a more profound civilian 
never graced the ermine, in New England. He discerns, at a glance, 
points in a case, that, to an ordinary intellect, would require protracted 
reflection. He is unblemished in private life, and greatly esteemed for 
his courtesy, candor, and ready acts of charity. His sagacity and 
penetration are proverbial, and his influence on the bench is almost 
without bound. He is rather corpulent, and near the common height 
of man, with dark-blue, piercing eyes, that play amid expressive fea- 
tures. 

Justice Shaw has ever felt a devoted veneration of his parents. 
His mother was a lady of more than ordinary powers of intellect ; 
and of his flvther, the venerable pastor of Barnstable, he thus warmly 
expressed himself, in a speech at the centennial celebration of that 
town, Sept. 3, 1839 : " Almost within sight of the place where we 
are still stands a modest spire, marking the spot where a beloved 
father stood to minister the holy word of truth, and hope, and salva- 
tion, to a numerous, beloved, and attached people, for almost half a 
century. Pious, pure, simple-hearted, devoted to and beloved by his 
people, never shall I cease to venerate his memory, or to love those 
who knew and loved him. I speak in the presence of some who knew 
him, and of many more who, I doubt not, were taught to love and 
honor his memory, as one of the earliest lessons of their childhood." 

He is remarkable for social qualities, and his conversation is often 
so replete with wisdom and amiable vivacity that one is sure to be the 



380 



THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 



better for his society. The sentiment here advanced, and given by 
him at the celebration, so characterizes the man, that it is a choice 
memento: "Cape Cod, our beloved Birth-place: May it be the 
nursery and the home of the social virtues, — a place -which all her 
sons and daughters, -whether present or absent, may, for centuries to 
come, as in centuries past, delight to honor and to love." The passage 
herewith transcribed is taken from the song ^Yritten for the occasion, 
by William Ilayden, Esq., our late honored postmaster of Boston : 

" To trace your debt to old Cape Cod 

It needs no brush or pallet, — 
There 's Dimmock, Gray, and Thacher, too, 

The Searses, and George Hallett ; 
Some service -we have done the State, — 

From us you get your law, sir ; 
There 's Mr. Bassett — he 's your clerk, — 

And there's Chief Justice Shaw, sir." 

Justice Sha-w gave the following sentiment at the first anniversary 
of the Cape Cod Association, celebrated in Boston, Nov. 11, 1851: 
" The Cabin of the Mayflower : The Convention Hall of the Pilgrims, 
from the first dawning of whose light has emanated a blaze of consti- 
tutional freedom which has hghted up every mountain and penetrated 
every valley of our land." 

In addition to productions already named. Chief Justice Shaw has 
published his Inaugural Address ; Charge to the Grand Jury at 
Ipswich, 1832 ; Address at the Opening of the New Court-house, in 
Vforcester, 1845 ; Charge to the Jury in the trial of Professor 
J. W. Webster, in Bemis' edition. 

What Justice Shaw said of his predecessor in office may, with great 
emphasis, be applied to himself: "His judicial character must stand 
upon the published reports of his judicial decisions, which now form so 
large a portion of his legal learning. These will form an enduring 
monument of his fame, and constitute a large claim upon the respect 
and gratitude of posterity." In transposing what Justice Shaw once 
said of the law, to the lawyers, we may remark of him, that, ha-ving 
been nurtured by an enlightened philosophy, invigorated by sound 
learning, and polished by elegant literature, he has been an efficient 
supporter of constitutional hberty. 



WILLIAM GALE, — GEORGE SULLIVAN. 381 

WILLIAM GALE. 

JULY 4, 1815, FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

Will AM Gale was born at Waltham in the year 1792, and grad- 
uated at Harvard College in 1810. He became a counsellor-at-law, 
and practised in the old State-house, He was a Avarm adherent of 
the Democratic party, and a frequent contributor to the Chronicle. 
The papers of the day said of the oration (delivered at the Columbian 
Coffee-house, for the Washington Society, of Avhich Mr. Gale was 
president in 1817), that it was a patriotic, spirited and elegant per- 
formance. Mr. Gale was the legal solicitor of the Republican Institu- 
tion, on its foundation, in 1819. Possessing talents tending to an 
honored eminence, it is related that he descended to habits of inebria- 
tion, — an infirmity peculiar to men of literary genius, — which reduced 
him to poverty, and doomed him to the House of Industry, which, 
according to the records, he last entered Nov. G, 1839, when, being 
attacked with the small-pox, he was removed to Eainsford Island on 
the 19th inst., where he died, Nov. 21, 1839, aged forty-seven years. 

" Now there he lies. 
And none so poor to do him reverence," 



GEORGE SULLIVAN. 

JULY i, 1816. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Was a son of Gov. SulHvan, and born in Boston February, 1782 ; 
entered the Latin School in 1791, and graduated at Harvard College 
in 1801, when he engaged in a discussion on the importance of 
national character to the United States, Was a counsellor-at-law ; 
and married Sarah Bowdoin, a daughter of Hon. Thomas L. Winthrop. 
He was secretary to Hon, James Bowdoin, when minister to Spain. 
Was the governor's aid-de-camp, and a member of the Ancient and 
Honorable Artillery Company, in 1811. Was captain of the New 



382 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

England Guards. Judge-advocate of the first military division. Was 
president, in 1813, of Boston Fuel Society for the Poor. Was a rep- 
resentative, and a senator, in the State Legislature. His residence has 
been, for many years, in New York. 

General Humphries, who gave a speech at the dinner of the to-s^n 
authorities, remarked of INIr. Sullivan's performance, at the head of this 
article : " The orator of the day has been your faithful organ, in pro- 
nouncing conciliatory doctrines, in inculcating liberal and independent 
sentiments, and recommending a just and wise system of policy." 

Unlike his eminent brother, William, he was a republican of the 
Democratic school. He is a member of the New England Historical 
Society. He is a gentleman of polished manners and truly estimable 
reputation, and the honored brother of the Hon. Richard Sullivan, 
of this State. 



ASHUR WARE. 

JULY 4, 1816. FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

Was born at Sherburne, and son of Joseph Ware, a respectable 
farmer, and born in 1783. He graduated at Harvard College in 
1804, at which time he took part in a forensic disputation, Whether 
the law of nature be equally applicable to individuals and nations. 
He was a tutor at Cambridge from 1807 to 1811, and professor of 
Greek from that period to 1815. He was an attorney-at-law in Bos- 
ton, 1816, and an editor of the Boston Yankee, in company Avith 
Henry Orne. In 1817 Mr. Ware removed to Portland, and deliv- 
ered another oration on our national independence, in that town. In 
1820 he was elected a member of the corporation of Bowdoin College, 
which he occupied until 1844. In 1834 he was president of the 
Portland Athenaeum, and was an officer of the Maine Historical 
Society. He has been many years, from 1822, Judge of the U. S. 
District Court of Maine. In 1830 Judge Ware married Sarah Mor- 
gridge, and has one son at college. In 1839 he published Reports of 
Cases argued and determined in the District Court of the United 
States for the District of Maine, from 1822 to 1839, printed at Port- 



ASnUR AVARE. 383 

land. This is a work of great legal learning. Judge "Ware was the 
first Secretary of State for Maine, on its separation, in 1820. 

Judge Ware, in early life, entered the field of democracy, and 
, warmly espoused its cause. His brilliant talents, displayed in the two 
orations, show him a devoted champion for the war with Great Britain, 
and a decided opponent to the Hartford Convention. They are valua- 
ble records of the party feeling of the day. He said of Samuel Dex- 
ter, that he indignantly frowned on all attempts to impair the constitu- 
tion, or sever the Union. We do not believe the judge indulges, after 
an experience of thirty years, views like the following, extracted from 
the Portland oration: "Mr. Ames, the oracle of our aristocratic 
junto, feelingly lamented that we had not in this country the materials 
for establishing a monarchy similar to that of England. We had no 
old and great families who were looked up to with that submissive rev- 
erence which is inspii-ed by the inherited greatness, the family pictures, 
if I may so remark, of ancient nobility. But the times are much 
improved since he wrote. All difficulties vanished before the enter- 
prising geniuses of 1814. This man will surely make a very good 
Duke of Norfolk, and here is an Earl of Essex waiting for his patent 
of nobility. A hopeful train of titled great could be quickly formed. 
But for the king ! Who shall we clothe with the awful robes of maj- 
esty? Where shall we find the sublimity of genius and the transcend- 
ent dignity that is worthy to be encircled by the glories of the crown ? 
Nothing so easy. It is a maxim of the British constitution, which is 
our model, that a pasteboard king is the best of all possible monarchs ; 
and so we will crown — the sage of Northampton ! Queen Mab was 
busy at her fairy work. Mitres and diadems, and stars and ribbons, 
were dancing before the eager imaginations of these titled dreamers. 
But the angel of Peace arrived, and the air-drawn phantoms of the 
fairies vanished before the Avand of the powerful enchanter. The 
exhilarating visions of a heated fancy, the ' thrones and dominion^ and 
princedoms,' the stars and diadems and mitres, just as the pilgrims 
arrived at the wicket of their political heaven, were taken by this rude 
cross wind, and, 

*' Upwhirled aloft, 

Flew o'er the backside of the world far off. 

Into a limbo large and broad," 

the ancient receptacle of all the abortive and unfinished works of 
nature, and all the multiformed follies of men, of politician's dreams, 



384 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

and lover's sighs, and Pope's indulgences, yclept in olden time the 
' Paradise of fools.' And there may the sparkling glories of the New 
England monarchy, the crosses and coronets, that charmed the waking 
and sleeping fancies of our political regenerator, slumber in undis-, 
turbed repose, •svith the cowls and hoods, the relics and rosaries, of 
religious delirium, till the day of the general resurrection ; " and in 
another passage of like satirical vein. Gov. Strong is alluded to as our 
invincible Washington, in frowning majesty, curbing his impetuous 
steed, at the head of his Northampton chivalry. His very name was a 
tower of strength, and of whom Paine thus emphasizes in Rule New 
England : 

" Old Massachusetts' hundred hills, 

Awake, and chant the matin song ! 
A realm's acclaim the welkin fills, — 

The Federal sun returns with Strong." 

As an offset to the insinuations on the "good Duke of Norfolk," 
— meaning, we presume, Fisher Ames, — we will quote a sentence from 
his eulogy on Washington, that "government was administered with such 
integrity without mystery, and in so prosperous a course, that it seemed 
wholly employed in acts of beneficence ; " and this was an opinion 
formed after being in Congress during the entire administration of 
Washington. A royalist would not say this ; and Samuel Dexter, the 
great political rival of Fisher Ames, pronounced the eulogy over his 
unburied remains. 



EDWARD TYRRELL CHANNING. 

JULY 4, 1817. FOR THE TOWN AUTIIORITIRS. 

Was born at Newport, R. L, Dec. 12, 1790. He received at 
Harvard College, in 1819, the degree of A. M. ; was the orator for 
the Phi Beta Kappa Society in 1818; became a counscllor-at-law, 
and married Henrietta A. S., daughter of William Ellery, Esq., of 
Newport, April, 1826 ; has been the Boylston Professor of Rhetoric 
and Oratory ever since 1819. At that period he became editor of the 
North American Review. The oration delivered in 1817 was pro- 



FRAXCIS GALLEY GRAY. 385 

nouncecl in the presence of President Monroe, who was then on a tour 
through New England. He was author of the Memoir of WiUiam 
Ellery, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, of whom 
Dr. Allen states that he died while he was reading Tully's Offices, in 
Latin. The Rev. William E. Channing has characterized his brother 
Edward as " the antiquary of the family." 

Professor Channing resigned his office at the close of the academic 
year, in 1851, and was one of the oldest of the faculty at that period. 
The influence he has exercised, in forming and cultivating the taste of 
so many successive classes, has been surpassed by no one, probably, 
ever connected with the college. He is himself a writer of a vigorous 
and singularly pure English style. His taste is severe, and his crit- 
ical perception keen. The contributions of Mr. Channing, at two long 
intervals, in the North American and other periodicals, and the admi- 
rable lectures delivered to his classes, have impressed the public, both 
in and out of the college walls, with his rare powers as both writer and 
critic. One of the most useful of his duties, and at the same time the 
most laborious and wearisome, has been the reading and correcting the 
Themes of the students. Perhaps in this way, quiet and unostenta- 
tious though it has been, his power has been most genially and per- 
manently felt. 



FRANCIS GALLEY GRAY. 

JULY 4, 1818. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Francis Calley Gray was born at Salem. He was a son of 
Lieutenant-governor William Gray ; received his preliminary education 
under the care of William Bigelow and Jacob Knapp, and graduated at 
Harvard College in 1809, on which occasion he gave an oration in Eng- 
lish. He was a private secretary of Hon. John Quincy Adams, in 
the mission to Russia. He read law with Hon. Judge Prescott, and 
became a counsellor at Sufiblk bar. He has been a representative, a 
senator, and a member of the Governor's Council. He was a presi- 
dent of the Boston Athenaeum ; a member of the Academy of Arts and 
Sciences, and corresponding secretary ; a trustee of the State Lunatic 
33 



386 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Hospital, at Worcester, on its establishment ; a trustee, also, of the 
Massachusetts General Hospital, at Boston, and a Fellow of Harvard 
College from 182G to 1836. 

Mr. Gray is one of the most accomplished literary writers among 
us, and was an early contributor to the North American Eeview. His 
performance delivered for the Phi Beta Kappa Society, at Cambridge, 
in the year 1816, was printed in the third volume of that periodical. 
The oration at the head of this article is one of the best productions in 
the whole range of Boston oratory. In the year 1832 Mr. Gray pro- 
nounced a centennial oration on the birth of Washington, in the pres- 
ence of the State authorities, in which he felicitously characterized the 
mind of Washington as of "exact proportions, and severe simplicity, 
without a fliult for censure, an extravagance for ridicule, or a blemish 
for regret." Mr. Gray has somewhat devoted his mind to antiquarian 
pursuits. He is a devoted member of the Massachusetts Historical 
Society, and has been an editor of several volumes of its published col- 
lections. He was the author of Remarks on the Early Laws of Mas- 
sachusetts Bay ; and was editor of the Code of 1641, known as the Body 
of Liberties, both of which are printed in the collections of this society. 
One of the productions of Mr. Gray, which indicates the greatest tal- 
ent, is the treatise entitled ''Prison Discipline in America," the basis 
of Avhich comprises the arguments advanced by himself at the animated 
discussion on Prison Discipline Reform which occurred during a period 
of seven adjourned meetings, in the Tremont Temple, in the summer 
of 1847. Mr. Gray was a vice-president of the Prison Discipline 
Society, and had been several years chairman of the board of direct- 
ors of the state-prison at Charlestown. He was a decided supporter 
of the social system of associated labor, an object of philanthropy to 
which he was tenaciously devoted, that has long prevailed in our state- 
prison. An admirable portrait of Mr. Gray, by Alexander, is in the 
family. 

In an oration of Mr. Gray, for the Phi Beta Kappa Society of 
Brown University, delivered in 1842, in which he states that the gen- 
eration now rising into active life in America is destined to exert a 
great influence, not only on the fortunes of our country, but of the 
whole human race, he points out the dangers and duties of the people. 
We find the following ingenious argument, in this excellent performance, 
in relation to the ability of the United States to sustain its political 
freedom. " The question Avhich the statesmen of Europe wish to have 



FRANCIS GALLEY GRAY. 387 

settled is this," says Mr. Gray; " whether a nation, extensive, popu- 
lous, and wealthy enough to defend itself, unaided, against all aggres- 
sion, and maintain its fleets and armies without summoning its citizens, 
on every alarm of war, from their daily occupations and their firesides, 
to the field, thus letting the mere sound of the trumpet interrupt all the 
pursuits of peace, — to make all the internal improvements which mod- 
ern science is perpetually suggesting, — to establish the division of 
labor, and the competition for success in every pursuit, essential to the 
perfection of the useful arts, — to promote the cultivation of science 
and literature, and supply the innumerable wants of civilized life, — 
whether such a nation be capable of maintaining a system of govern- 
ment, under which the citizens possess equal rights and equal political 
power, without a degree of anarchy as intolerable as despotism itself 

" Where else in the world can they look for the solution of the ques- 
tion, but to this country, where only the elements of the problem are 
found united ? Already its population has so increased that it is sur- 
passed in this respect by only four European nations ; and, at the end 
of the period we now contemplate, if the rate of increase be the same 
as hitherto on both sides of the Atlantic, it will be equalled by none 
but the gigantic empire of Russia. Without meaning to dwell on this 
point, there is one light in which I would present it to you, somewhat 
striking. So rapid has been our increase, that the number of persons 
of European descent now living on the surface of these United States 
is greater than the whole aggregate number of the dead, of all genera- 
tions, of the same race, that lie buried beneath it. Surprising as this 
may seem, it is capable of mathematical demonstration, and this in a 
form so simple that I will venture to state it even here. Taking a gen- 
eration to be the period during which as many persons die as existed 
at its commencement, and supposing the population to be exactly doubled 
in the period of a single generation; begin your settlement with one 
thousand inhabitants. At the end of the first generation, you have one 
thousand dead and two thousand living. At the end of the second gen- 
eration, you add the same number — two thousand — to both, making 
three thousand dead and four thousand living, which last number you 
add to both at the end of the third generation ; and, as you add at the 
end of each generation the same number, — that is, the number living 
at its commencement,— both to the dead and to the living, the difier- 
ence between them will always remain the same, and the living will 
always exceed the dead by the number with which you began. Now, 



388 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

this is on the supposition that the population exactly doubles in the 
period of one generation. But our population is found to increase 
much faster. It doubles in less than twenty-four years, and has done 
so from the beginning ; so that, in fact, the number of the living far 
— very far — exceeds the -whole mighty congregation of the dead. As 
long as the same rate of increase shall continue, — and nothing has 
hitherto checked it, — this will always be so ; and the child that opens 
its eyes to the light this day, and lives to see old age, will close them 
on an empire of one hundred and seventy millions of people. Should 
our institutions, therefore, be henceforth successfully administered, it 
will no longer be objected that the population is too small for a satis- 
factory experiment." 



FRANKLIN DEXTER. 

JULY 4, 1819. rOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

"The colonists became independent," says Mr. Dexter, "because 
they had always been free ; for it is only by the long enjoyment of 
liberty that men could be formed, — for a contest of liberty was their 
ruling passion ; — and, though they disclaimed any Avish to be inde- 
pendent until they solemnly declared themselves so, they were always 
actuated by a spirit that could not leave them long dependent on a for- 
eign power. It was a clear understanding of the principles of civil 
liberty, and an ardent attachment to it, that were the sole and consist- 
ent causes of the Revolution. Not the mere impatience of oppression 
that sometimes wakes even a degraded people to resistance, to avenge 
their wrongs, rather than to assert their rights, — which groans and 
struggles in confinement, till there is no longer anything to be lost, 
and then breaks out in violence and uproar, — not to change the gov- 
ernment, but to annihilate it ; not to redress the evils of society, but 
to sweep away society itself. We have seen such a revolution, and we 
may be proud that ours had nothing in common with it. We have 
seen a great nation shaken to its foundations, and bursting like a vol- 
cano, only to shower down destruction itself, — leaving its colossal form 
dark, bare and blasted, with no grandeur but its terrors. Such was 
not our Revolution ; but, hkc the fire in our own forests, not scattered 



FRANKLIN DEXTER, 389 

by the hand of accident or furj, but deliberately to the root of the 
growth of ages, which tottered and fell before it, only that from its 
ashes might rise a new creation, when all was green and fair and flour- 
ishing. The world has learned, by these experiments, that civil liberty 
is not a mushroom, that grows up in a night from the fallen, rotten 
trunk of despotism; but a hardy plant, that strikes deep, in a sound 
soil, and slowly gathers strength with years, till oppression Avithers in 
its shadow. Our present situation is a living proof of the difference 
of the two events. Liberty never yet was the work of an outraged 
and incensed populace, — as well might a whirlwind plant a para- 
dise ! " 

Franklin Dexter was born in Charlestown, and was son of Samuel 
Dexter, the profound civilian and famous orator, — of whom Callender 
unjustly said that " he has a great deal of that kind of eloquence which 
struts around the heart, without ever entering it," — and was a warm 
advocate of the war with Great Britain. Samuel Dexter and The- 
ophilus Parsons were at one time against each other in the court at 
Dedham. Rufus Green Amory had hunted up all the authorities, and 
placed a mark at each. Mr. Dexter requested his attorney to take a 
seat beside him, and hand the authorities as he wished them, which 
afforded the best possible opportunity of hearing every word that 
escaped the lips of that great man. Placing one foot upon a chair, and 
folding his arms across his breast, Mr. Dexter began ; and such a stream 
of reasoning, without noise and Avithout effort, as he poured out for four 
hours, one never heard before ; it Avas like pouring water from a flask. 
Parsons made several attempts to interrupt him. At last, Mr. Dexter 
turned to him and said : " Mr. Parsons, if you have an overflow of wit, 
have the goodness to reserve it for the close ; you have already driven 
several ideas out of my head." The Chief Justice, Dana, remarked, 
" Never mind, Mr. Dexter ; if he should deprive you of as many more, 
you would still have enough left for Mr. Parsons." Mr. Dexter was 
accustomed to pursue his studies in the evening, without the use of a 
lamp, often till toAvards eleven o'clock ; and so absorbed was his mind 
that he would quit his oflice without locking the door, and his landlord, 
the bookseller on the lower floor, often found it necessary to Avait until 
Mr. Dexter left the ofl5ce, in order to make it secure for the night. 
Samuel Dexter is said to have Avritten a condensed analysis of the evi- 
dences of Christianity, Avhich is one of the most conclusive arguments 
ever written by a civihan. 



390 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Franklin Dexter graduated at Harvard College in 1812, on which 
occasion he took part in the discussion, whether extensiveness of terri- 
tory be favorable to the preservation of a republican government. He 
is a counsellor-at-law, and married Catharine Elizabeth, a daughter of 
Hon. William Prescott. He was a member of the city Council in 
1825 ; was commander of the New England Guards, a representative 
and senator in the State Legislature, and the United States District 
Attorney for Massachusetts. 

When, in July, 1841, the venerable Judge Davis resigned the 
judicial station, INIr. Dexter was requested, by the members of the 
Suffolk bar, to make known to him their high sense of respect and 
veneration ; and he performed the duty with felicitous grace, in highly 
effective terms. "It can rarely happen," said he, "that a judge 
who is called upon to decide so many delicate and important questions 
of property and personal right should have so entirely escaped all 
imputation of prejudice or passion, and should have found so general 
an acquiescence in his results. Our filial respect and affection for your- 
self have constantly increased with increasing years ; and, while we 
acknowledge your right to seek the repose of private life, we feel that 
your retirement is, not less than it ever would have been, a loss to the 
profession and the public. May you live long and happily, — as long 
as life shall continue to be a blessing to you, and so long will that life 
be a blessing to your friends and society." 

Mr. Dexter has been an eminent pleader at the bar : and the ingenu- 
ity with Avhich he contended against the searching "Webster, in the trial 
of the Knapps for the muixler of White, is in the memory of many. 
Possessing brilliant talents and strong reasoning powers, Mr. Dexter 
would have risen to elevated public life, had he not retired to the enjoy- 
ment of literary ease. The beautiful criticism on landscape painting, 
from his polished hand, extending through thirty-five pages of the 
North American Review, in which he discerns no reason why painters 
should not arise in our day to surpass all that was effected by Claude, 
Caspar, or Salvator, and expresses the decided opinion that he has 
seen no landscapes painted since the days of Titian superior to those of 
Allston, indicate him to be as tasteful in the fine arts as he has been 
profound in legal learning. We are of opinion that we neither over- 
state, nor exaggerate, in the remark that ]Mr. Dexter has been one of the 
most acute, logical reasoners at the Suffolk bar, and but few competitors 
felt safe in an aro;ument with him. 



SAMUEL ADAMS WELLS. — THEODORE LYMAN. 891 

SAMUEL ADAMS WELLS. 

JULY 4, 1819. FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

Was a son of Thomas Wells, who married Hamiah, daughter of 
Gov. Samuel Adams. He was president of the Atlas Lisurance Com- 
pany, and married Margaret Gibbs. Mr. Wells was a tenacious advo- 
cate of the Democratic party, and prepared Memoirs of the Life and 
Correspondence of Gov. Samuel Adams, his grandfather, comprising 
three volumes in manuscript, which it is said were disposed of to George 
Bancroft, the historian. This is to be regarded as a public calamity, 
unless the purchaser should cause it to be printed. Whitcomb said of 
our American Cato, 

" Eclipsed by merit, rivals all submit, 
Laying their withered laurels at thy feet." 

Mr. Wells was the corresponding secretary of the Republican Insti- 
tution, originated at the dwelling-house of Mr. Ebenezer Clough, Nov. 
16, 1818. Gen. Henry Dearborn was its first president. Its annual 
meetings occur on the 4th of March. It was incorporated Feb. 18, 
1819. The late Hon. James Lloyd founded a pohtical library for this 
important engine of the party. 

In 1820, Mr. Wells was a delegate to the Massachusetts convention 
for revising the State constitution, and engaged in public debate. At 
the town-meeting in Faneuil Hall, Jan 2, 1822, on the subject of a 
city charter of Boston, Mr. Wells moved that the word city be stricken 
out, and the word town be inserted, as a substitute. He died Aug. 
12, 1810. 



THEODORE LYMAN. 

JULY 4, 1820. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Was born in Boston, Feb. 22, 1792. Rev. Joseph S. Buckminster 
was his private teacher, at Waltham ; entered Exeter Academy in 
ISOl ; was a graduate at Harvard College in 1810, became a mer- 



392 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

chant, and married Mary E. Henderson in 1820, by whom he had 
Theodore and Cora. He was a representative in 1825, and in 1824 a 
senator, in the State Legislature. He engaged in mihtarj life ; was, 
in 1821, the lieutenant of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Com- 
pany, an aid-de-camp to Gov. Brooks, and brigadier- general of the 
Boston militia. He was INIayor of Boston in 1834 and '35, a period 
in the history of the city stained by the spirit of insubordination, and 
the dark hues of intolerance. This will ever be remembered as the 
time when the disgraceful Garrison riot, and the destruction of the 
Ursuline Convent, disturbed the peace of the old metropolis of the Bay 
State. Gen. Lyman was the author of Diplomacy of the United 
States with Foreign Nations, 2 vols. 8vo., 1826 ; The Political State 
of Italy, Svo., 1820 ; Three Weeks in Paris, — the result of his visit to 
France ; and an account of the Hartford Convention, addressed to the 
fair-minded and well-disposed, favoring the motives of that body, pu]> 
lished in 1823. He was president of the Prison Discipline Society ; 
was president of the Farm School three years, and a member of the 
Massachusetts Historical and the New England Genealogic Historical 
societies. 

Our own city of Boston has never been honored with a more 
munificent native citizen than was Mayor Lyman, for the last half-cen- 
tury ; besides his private charities to the suffering children of abject 
poverty. It was said of Lyman, 

" He is gracious if he be observed ; 
He hath a tear for pity, and a hand 
Open as day for melting charity." 

Mayor Lyman, on the foundation of the State Reform School, at 
Westboro', which he originated, was the secret donor of twenty-two 
thousand dollars to this institution, — a secret not publicly disclosed 
until after his decease ; and by his last will he bequeathed fifty thou- 
sand dollars to the same institution, in addition to his previous gifts. 
He bequeathed ten thousand dollars to the Boston Farm School, which 
had previously received his gifts, and ten thousand dollars to the 
Massachusetts Horticultural Society. He died at Brookline, July 
17, 1849. 



HENKY ORNE. — CHARLES GREELY LORING. 393 

HENRY ORNE. 

JULY 4, 1820. FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

Was born at Marblehead, and married Frances Boyd, daughter of 
William Little, of Boston. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 
1812; was a counsellor-at-law, and married, a second time, Sempronia, 
the sister of his first wife ; was an eminent advocate, and one of the 
committee on the city charter. He was a judge of the Police Court, 
and of the city Council in 1822. 

Col. Orne was a leader of the Democratic party, and a ready writer. 
He was an editor of the Boston Yankee, and a liberal contributor to 
the Boston Statesman. He was the author of the Letters of Colum- 
bus, originally published in the Boston Bulletin, to which are added 
two letters to Gen. Duff Green, in 1829. They are valuable as 
unfolding the differences of the Jackson party. Col. Orne finally 
removed to Oxford, Me. He was a warm-hearted and patriotic man. 



CHARLES GREELY LORING. 

JULY 4, 1821. FOR THE TOWN AUTHORITIES. 

Was last of the orators for the town authorities, of whose perform- 
ance an eminent politician, the late Dr. William Ingalls, remarked, 
that it was the only oration on our national independence, that he had 
ever heard, which had a beginning, a middle, or an end. In alluding 
to the result of the convention for revising the State constitution, 
Mr. Loring remarks that it "affords convincing proof of the stability 
of a government which they so impressively proclaim to be founded 
on the affections and confidence of its citizens. Let the advocate of 
the degrading maxim, that man is incapable of self-government, con- 
template the scene of moral grandeur which this event unfolds ; let 
him behold the reverence and affection with which the numerous del- 
egates of a free people approach the institutions of their ancestors, 
to effect those alterations which a change of political situation had 
rendered essential ; let him observe the impressive sense of respona- 



394 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

ibility, the unity of design, the solemn earnestness, which pervade their 
deliberations, the dignified and manly deference with which prejudices 
and preconceived opinions are yielded to the force of truth and reason, 
and the feelings which prompt a voluntary and simultaneous homage 
to that revered patriot [John Adams] who happily remains to see, in 
the pride of its strength, the temple he assisted to raise ; let him view, 
in the result of their labors, a confirmation of all the essential princi- 
ples of our constitution ; and, following them to their homes, let him 
see them diffusing an increased love and veneration for the institutions 
of our country, without carrying with them a feehng of party ani- 
mosity, or local jealousy, to disturb the tranquillity of the republic. 
Let him look still further, and contemplate the submission of the rec- 
ommendations of these delegates to the decision of their constituents ; 
and, instead of the eagerness for change, characteristic of every other 
than a free people, let liim view our fellow-citizens rejecting most of 
the proposed amendments, chnging with fond veneration to the institu- 
tions of their fathers, scarce willing to touch, even with a sparing 
hand, the edifice in which they had so happily and securely dwelt, — 
and then let him renounce a doctrine so insulting to our race and to 
God!" 

Charles Greely, a son of Hon. Caleb Loring, was born in Boston, 
May 2, 1794 ; entered the Latin School in 1804, and graduated at 
Harvard College in 1812, when he pronounced the salutatory oration 
in Latin; and, at an exhibition, he gave an oration on " De literis 
Romanis." He read law in Boston with the Hon. Charles Jackson 
and the Hon. Samuel Hubbard ; and at Litchfield, in 1813, under 
Hon. Judges Reeve and Gould, of the latter of whom Mr. Loring once 
remarked: " The recollection is as fresh as the events of yesterday, 
of our passing along the broad shaded streets of one of the most beau- 
tiful of the villages of New England, with our inkstands in our hands, 
and our portfolios under our arms, to the lecture-room of Judge Gould, 
— the last of the Romans, of Common Law lawyers — the imperson- 
ation of its genius and spirit. It was, indeed, in his eyes, the perfec- 
tion of human reason, by which he measured not only every principle 
and rule of action, but almost every sentiment. Why, sir, his highest 
visions of poetry seemed to be in the refinements of special pleading ; 
and, to him, a non seqidtiir in logic was an offence deserving, at the 
least, fine and impi'isonment, — and a repetition of it transportation 
for life. " Mr. Lorina; is an eminent counsellor, and married Anna Pierce 



CHARLES GREELY LORING. 395 

Brace, in 1818. His second wife was Mary Ann, a daughter of Hon. 
Judge Putnam, formerly of Salem, whom he married in 1840. His 
third wife was Mrs. Cornelia Amory Goddard. 

The office of Mr. Loring is on the site of that occupied by John 
Adams in 1770. In 1834 he prepared the report of the city com- 
mittee on the destruction of the Ursuline Convent, proposing an indem- 
nity to the Roman Catholics for that outrage. He was for nearly 
fifteen years the superintendent of the Sabbath-school of Rev. Dr. 
Lowell's religious society, and has been one of the corporation of Har- 
vard University from 1838. He was a decided friend of the Mercan- 
tile Library Association, and drafted its act of incorporation. He 
delivered for this institution, Feb. 26, 1845, at the Odeon, an address 
on the Relations of the Bar to Society, exhibiting the moral and polit- 
ical influence of the legal profession. Were Shakspeare now living, he 
would not include Mr. Loring in the malediction, " The first thing we 
do, let's kill all the lawyers." In 1847 Mr. Loring gave an eifective 
speech in the Senate-chamber in fiivor of the "air-line" railroad route 
to New York, in contest with Mr. Choate, when it was said of him 
that he was a cool, deliberate speaker, " with great concentrative power 
and logical force, while Mr. Choate is all excitement, wit, and imagina- 
tion." He was the moderator of a political meeting in Faneuil Hall, Nov. 
7, 1845, when Webster and Winthrop argued on the Native American 
abstraction, and was president of the Suffolk Whig Committee at that 
period. In 1848 he was president of the Webster Whig Club, organ- 
ized previous to the nomination of Zachary Taylor. His arguments 
for the Eastern Railroad, Boston and Woonsocket corporations, have 
been pubhshed. 

When the coahtion Legislature of 1851 proposed to the people to 
call a convention for an alteration of the State constitution, — -which was 
decided by the people in the negative, at the election of State officers 
for the year ensuing, — Mr. Loring, who had been requested to speak 
at a public meeting in Faneuil Hall, Nov. 7th, of that period, having 
engagements beyond his control, declined the invitation, and addressed 
a letter to the county committee, from which we make extracts, as it is 
a fragment in political history worthy of record : 

'• The only pretence of right to change the constitution in the man- 
ner proposed, which I have seen stated or heard of, is the assumed 
principle that the majority of the people have the right, at any time, 
and in any manner which may seem meet to them, to change their form 



396 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of government ; and that tliis is a right which is not and cannot be 
controlled by any constitutional compact or provision. The obvious 
fallacy of which, as it seems to me, consists in confounding the orig- 
inal right to form such a constitution as the majority might elect when 
entering into the contract, Avith the assumed right of subsequently 
violating and breaking it at pleasure, — forgetting that, in morals as 
well as in the law, although it may be optional whether or not to enter 
into a compact, no right exists, after its formation, to disregard or violate 
its obligations. 

"This doctrine, thus boldly announced and vindicated, if sound, 
leads directly and obviously to the conclusion, that the whole or any 
part of our present constitution or feature of goverment may be 
changed at pleasure, by a mere expression of the will of a majority of 
the people, however announced or ascertained ; and that a despotism, 
an aristocracy, an oligarchy, or a pure democracy, in which every citi- 
zen votes upon all public measures and appointments, may be at any 
time substituted for our republican form of government ; and that these 
changes may be made from one to any other, whenever and as often as 
such majority may see fit to will them. And, however improbable we 
may imagine such changes to be under existing circumstances, their 
mere possibility is a true test of the soundness of the doctrine ; and 
their probability, however remote, would be vastly increased, should the 
public mind become demoralized by the prevalence of such an opinion. 

" Under the existing constitution, and the powers of the Legislature, 
which are wholly derived from it, I perceive no more right in the Sen- 
ate and House to call or organize a convention of the people for altering 
the constitution, than exists in any other body of individuals, gathered 
together for any other purpose, or in any that may choose to unite for 
that end. And any attempt at such alteration, excepting in the man- 
ner provided by the constitution itself, seems to me nothing short of 
actual revolution, — it being in principle the same thing, whether such 
change be made by force of arms, or by any other action of the major- 
ity coercing an unwilling minority into a surrender of their constitu- 
tional rights. 

" Our national constitution, and those of many, if not of all, the other 
States, contain some qualification or restriction of the power of a mere 
majority of the people to alter their provisions ; and are intended for 
the obvious purpose, among others, of protecting the minority. They 
are restrictions which the majority have agreed to impose upon them- 



CHARLES GREELY LORING. 397 

selves for the common safety of all, that we may live under govern- 
ments of law, and not of men ; and, unless they are sacredly regarded 
and obeyed, there can be no such thing as constitutional liberty or 
protection ; and every man holds his hfe, freedom and property, upon 
no safer tenure than the arbitrary will of a bare majority of the people, 
acting, as it often has been, and often again may be, under wild delu- 
sion, or the influences of corrupt factions." 

Mr. Loring said of Hon. Judge Hubbard, in addressing the members 
of the Suffolk bar, on his decease, that he had the pleasure of completing 
his studies under liis guidance, and entered the forensic arena under his 
auspices, as his associate in the profession; and how grateful and 
refreshing will ever be that recollection of the kind manners, the hon- 
est love of truth, and gentleness of spirit, with which he exercised his 
high powers ! and, in directing his address to Chief Justice Shaw, so 
long the compeer of Judge Hubbard, he described them both as the 
Achilles and Hector of the forum. 

Mr. Loring is one of the profoundest advocates of the Suffolk bar, 
remarkable for persevering energy, — one who throws his whole soul 
in his profession, to which he is intensely devoted, and of whom it 
cannot be said, 

*' I have been a truant in the law. 
And never yet could frame my ■will to it, 
And therefore frame the law to my will." 

A competitor at the bar thus characterized Mr. Loring, for the ear- 
nestness he ever infuses into his arguments, by the conviction he seems 
to entertain, for the occasion, that the cause he happens to sustain is 
founded in truth and in right, whatever that cause may be. "Indeed, 
I know," continues his rival, "that Mr. Loring would not engage in 
one, unless he were satisfied that it had two honest sides ; and Avhatever 
that cause may be, I know that my friend Avill lend his whole soul to 
the work. I know that he acquires a deep conviction, — or something 
that passes for a conviction with others, and probably for the time being 
amounts to it in his own mind, — that there will be great injustice, 
alarming injustice, irretrievable injustice, unless the rights of his cli- 
ents, as he understands them, are maintained." His faithfulness to his 
cause, and his ability, are proverbial. Mr. Loring is a member of the 
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the New England 
Genealogic and Historical Society. 
34 



398 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

GERRY FAIRBANKS. 

JULY 4, 1821. FOR THE "WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

Was born at Dedham, in 1782 ; was a hatter, on Wasliington-street, 
in Boston, and one of the directors of the New England Society for 
the promotion of Arts and Manufactures. In 1822 Mr. Fairbanks 
was one of the petitioners of Boston to the State Legislature for a city 
charter. In 1827 he was an engineer of the city fire department. In 
1829 he was president of the Boston Debating Society. He was com- 
mander of the Independent Fusileers, and colonel of the Boston regi- 
ment. Col. Fairbanks married Mary Sumner. He was an amiable 
man, of great public spirit. He died in Boston, December, 1829. 



JOHN CHIPMAN GRAY. 

JULY 4, 1822. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

Was born at Salem, Dec. 26, 1793, and a son of Lieutenant-gov- 
ernor William Gray. He married Elizabeth F., daughter of Samuel 
P. Gardner, Esq., of Boston; was a counsellor-at-law, and of the city 
Council five years, from 1824; and was eminent for his financial sagac- 
ity when in the municipal government, and a most eflScient member. 
He has been a representative, a senator, and of the executive council. 
While in the Legislature, his keen eye was ever watchful for the inter- 
ests of his constituents. In 1821 Mr. Gray was the orator for the Phi 
Beta Kappa Society. In 1834 he delivered an address for the Massa- 
chusetts Horticultural Society. He graduated at Harvard College in 
1811, on Avhich occasion his subject was on the Diversity of Talents 
among Mankind ; and, on an exhibition day, his part was an essay on 
the Effect of the Passion for Novelty on the Character of English 
Composition. 

In the oration of Mr. Gray, aj; the head of this article, which is a 
pohshed model from the marble quarry, we find a passage relating to 



JOHN CHIPMAN GRAY. 399 

the municipal form of government recently adopted in Boston : "It is 
no wonder that we should fondly cling to a form of government dear to 
our honest prejudices, — if, indeed, they do not deserve a better name, 
— alike from its venerable antiquity, from its similarity to the munici- 
pal institutions of our country brethren, and from a recollection of the 
virtues of those ancestors by Avhom it was established and preserved. 
We were at length taught, by a thorough experience, that the adminis- 
tration of our town affairs in person was rendered impi-acticable by our 
overflowing population. The frequency of our town-meetings became 
a heavy and embarrassing burden, and a general attendance upon 
them was utterly incompatible with a proper regard to our private 
duties. Our ordinary municipal concerns were naturally managed, and 
our by-laws enacted, by a small proportion of our whole number ; and 
we had no alternative left but to determine whether that proportion 
should be an ever-changing assemblage, collected almost wholly by 
accident, or a body of responsible delegates, chosen by the deliberate 
suffrages of the majority. Convinced that either the municipal consti- 
tution which our ancestors had left us must be changed, or that the 
good order and good principles which it was the sole object of that con- 
stitution to cherish must be impaired, or hazarded, we felt ourselves 
bound, by a regard not merely to our own good, but to their memory, 
to sacrifice the means to the end, and to establish, under the sanction 
of the Legislature, a government of representatives. This has been 
framed Avith an accuracy and caution which will appear superfluous to 
none who rightly estimate the importance of city laws. They are those, 
of all others, which touch us most nearly. We feel their influence 
every hour. The neatness and beauty of our streets, our public places, 
and public edifices, — our general health, the quiet pursuit of our 
business, the enjoyment of our innocent recreations, our daily comforts 
and nightly repose, — are all materially dependent on wise and well- 
executed municipal regulations. Such regulations, by their effect upon 
our condition, contribute materially, though indirectly, to the forma- 
tion of our character, — for who does not know how much character is 
affected by situation, how forcibly our minds and hearts are influenced 
by our physical circumstances 7 Still more may the government of 
every city control and guide the conduct of its inhabitants, by that 
vigilant and internal police which checks vice at its very spring, and 
prevents the deeper guilt which more general laws can, at best, only 
punish. Without such a police among ourselves, the wisest enactments 



400 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of our Congress or our Legislatures could do but little to render us a 
flourishing and happy municipality. This great end, we devoutly 
trust, ^vill be materially promoted by our new form of government. 
But let every citizen seriously reflect, that it is still a government of 
the people, and that the talents and fidelity of our municipal officers 
can avail us nothing, unless seconded by the prompt obedience and 
liberal approbation of the inhabitants in general. What, indeed, let us 
inquire for a moment, is the origin, and what the nature, not only of 
municipal, but of all public institutions] They are valuable only as 
instruments for promoting the happiness and virtue of the community 
where they exist. They spring from the character of the people, and 
are powerfully effectual in strengthening and improving that character, 
by their reaction." 



CHARLES PELHAM CURTIS. 

JULY 4, 1823. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES 

In the eloquent performance of our orator, among other topics, we 
have a review of what would have been the probable condition of this 
republic, had the British arms subdued our resistance : " Aiuong the 
privileges of which we should have been bereft, that of freely pos- 
sessing fire-arms should be included. One of the first acts of the vic- 
tors would have been to disarm the vanquished. JNIonarchs are too 
jealous of their subjects to intrust them with arms, except under the 
strictest inspection ; and the rebellious conduct of the Americans would 
have brought upon them a severer chastisement than the utmost rigor 
of this rule of policy could inflict. Instead of our militia, — the great, 
the ultimate guarantee of our liberties, — electing their own command- 
ers, and performing an easy and honorable service for a few days 
in the year, our young men would be embodied under officers selected 
by the crown, subjected to the severity of regular discipline, and com- 
pelled to assist the regular troops in fortifying the garrisons, or in 
overawing the other provinces. 

" And let us not imagine, that while Great Britain was pouring 
forth her resources to support the war, — while she was accumulating 



CHARLES PELHAM CURTIS. 401 

a debt of eight hundred milhons sterling,— -while she was taxing her 
subjects until the invention of financiers was exhausted, — that we 
should have been exempted. No ; these provinces would have been 
required to furnish their proportion of the public expenses, and to sus- 
tain their share of the burdensome and protracted contest. To effect 
this, the odious and demoralizing system of excise, with its penalties 
and its functionaries, from which, as from the plagues of Egypt, the 
retirement of the bed-chamber affords no relief, would have been entailed 
upon us, as it is upon England, forever. To the duties on stamps 
and importations would have been added a tax upon windows, and 
another on hearths, taxes on manufactures of every description, taxes 
on newspapers, and taxes on law proceedings, — the last of which 
has been emphatically called ' a tax upon distress.' In fine, to borrow 
the language of an ingenious British writer (in the Edinburgh Re- 
view), taxes would have been imposed ' on every article which enters 
the mouth, or covers the back, or is placed under the foot ; taxes 
upon everything which is pleasant to see, hear, feel, smell, or taste ; 
taxes on warmth, light, and locomotion ; taxes on everything on earth, 
and in the waters under the earth; on everything that comes from 
abroad or is grown at home ; taxes on the raw material, and taxes on 
every fresh value that is added to it, by the industry of man. Taxes 
on the sauce which pampers man's appetite, and the drug that restores 
him to health ; on the ermine which decorates the judge, and the rope 
that hangs the criminal ; on the poor man's salt, and the rich man's 
spices ; on the ribands of the bride, and the brass nails of the coffin.' 

" Had the arms of Great Britain been fated to prevail, how strongly 
would she have been tempted to introduce changes in our religious 
institutions. A considerable portion of the inhabitants of the colonies 
were already attached to the Church of England ; and a beneficed hier- 
archy is, at the same time, a powerful engine in the hands of govern- 
ment, and a fruitful source of rewards for its friends. On the other 
hand, freedom of thought and practice in religious matters naturally 
leads to freedom of inquiry and opinion on pohtical affairs, the growth 
of which it would not have been the policy of Great Britain to encour- 
age. In place of the ministers of our own choice, to whom we are 
attached by every tie of friendship and respect, inspired by their 
virtue and reciprocal esteem, our pulpits might have been filled by 
beneficiaries of the crown, accompanied by the proctors and consistory 
courts, and armed with the power of levying contributions for the 
34* 



402 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

maintenance of a worsliip which we do not prefer, and of a clergy in 
whose appointment we should have no voice. 

"If there are any in this assembly Avho think this suggestion too 
unreasonable for belief, I refer them, for an example, to the existing 
state of Ireland, where an established church, possessing a revenue 
of six millions of dollars, is maintained, by military force, in luxury 
and splendor, at the expense of an impoverished people, of whom more 
than nine-tenths reject its doctrines and embrace another faith. I am 
ready to admit, however, that the circumstances of the two countries 
are not entirely parallel ; and perhaps the conduct of England towards 
us would not have been guided, in this particular, by similar views. 
But it is sufficient, for my purpose, that such a measure had been 
possible, — it is certain that the valor of our ancestors has rendered it 
impossible ! 

"There is anotlier innovation, however, which, if Great Britain had 
succeeded, I am strongly inclined to believe she would have introduced 
among us, — I mean, an hereditary order of nobility. Every principle 
of monarchial policy would have been in favor of such an institution. 
The viceroy of America would have needed an intermediate class, 
dependent on the throne as the fountain of honor, to give strength to 
his administration and dignity to his court. The pride of the richer 
adherents of the crown would have been gratified by such distinctions ; 
the establishment of a pi'ivileged order would have assimilated the 
provinces more nearly to the mother country ; titles had already been 
conferred on a few individuals ; and ribands, and stars, and patents of 
nobility, are cheap rewards for services in the council or in the field. 
To support the dignity of the peerage, the entailment of estates, and 
the right of primogeniture, would, of necessity, have made part of our 
established law. Property, which is now distributed in equal portions, 
would, if thus protected, accumulate in the hands of a limited number 
of great proprietors ; and the yeomanry of our country — the inde- 
pendent freeholders of the soil which they cultivate — would be the 
tenants of some noble landlord. Pensions and grants of public lands 
would have been unsparingly bestowed ; the most strenuous opponents 
of the Revolution would, of course, have been the chosen objects of 
royal munificence ; and as Monk received a dukedom from the hands 
of Charles II., Arnold would lulve merited, at the least, an earldom 
from those of George III." 

Charles Pelham Curtis was born at Boston, June 22, 1792 ; entered 



RUSSELL JARVIS. 403 

the Latin School in Ic " /graduated at Harvard College in 1811, 
and was of the Law School ; engaged in the study of law under the 
guidance of Hon. William Sullivan; married Anna Wroe Scollay, 
March, 1816 ; and married again, Margaret Stevenson, the widow of 
Rev. Dr. McKean. Mr. Curtis was the first legal solicitor for the 
city of Boston, which station he sustained for several years, with great 
honor to his reputation, and to the benefit of his constituents. He 
was a member of the city Council four years, from 1822, where his 
influence in the practical development of the city charter has contrib- 
uted to its perpetuity. As a representative in the State Legislature, 
his sagacity and conciliation rendered him one of the most eflScient 
members of that body. He is a counsellor-at-law, and one of the most 
profound practical pleaders ; a whole-souled, courteous man ; one of the 
most talented and most judicious advisers of the Boston bar, remark- 
able for honest candor. He is one of a very select literary and social 
party, known as the Friday Night Club, at which Chief Justice Shaw 
often presides. Mr. Curtis was oiie of the originators of the Boston 
Farm School, which grew out of the institution for indigent boys. He 
is a man of fine literary parts, and has been a frequent contributor to 
our public journals, especially on political topics. 



RUSSELL JARVIS. 

i 

JULY i, 1833. FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

Was a son of Samuel Gardner Jarvis, and born in Boston ; gradu- 
ated at Dartmouth College in 1810; was a counsellor-at-law, and 
married Caroline, a daughter of Judge Dana, of Chelsea, V- T. ; and 
married a second wife, Sarah Ehza, a daughter of Thomas Cordis, 
merchant, of Boston, in 1824. His wife and two daughters lost their 
lives in the burning of the steamer Lexington, Jan. 13, 1840. In 
1828 he became an editor of the Washington Telegraph, in connection 
with Duff Green. Mr. Jarvis is a radiant halo of his eloquent uncle, 
the bald eagle of the Boston seat. He is one of the readiest political 
writers amongst us, and has exercised great influence in the circle of 
Democracy. 



404 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

"In breathing our hopes of European emancipation." says the fervent 
Jarvis, "let not Greece — lovely, interesting Greece — be neglected 
or forgotten. Greece ! the cradle of the poet and the philosopher, 
the home of the hero and the statesman, — whose name awakens every 
sublime recollection, and whose ancient memory is bound to the 
American heart by every tie that literature, science, or love of liberty 
can -weave, — when the American forgets thee, ' may her right hand 
forget her cunning ! ' Where are thy glories now '? The feet of bar- 
barians have polluted thy soil, and the siroc of despotism has passed 
over thee. Thy Acropolis is crumbled in ruins ! thy Parthenon lays 
low in dust ! the Muses have fled thy Parnassus ! thy Helicon mur- 
murs in vain ! the harp of thy Homer is broken ! thy Sapphos are 
mute, and their lyres are unstrung ! And could thy sufferings excite 
no sympathy in the bosoms of thy royal neighbors 7 Could not one 
faith, could not the Avorship of one Lord and one gospel, could not the 
voice of humanity, call forth the Holy Alliance to protect thee, or 
restrain them from monstrous combination with thy oppressors ? 
monarchs of Europe ! members of the Holy Alliance ! who claim to be 
Heaven's vicegerents, and to be set over mankind for dispensing that 
happiness which you profanely say they cannot procure for themselves, 
— how, in the days of your last account, will the genius of injured 
Greece stand before you, and point her accusing finger to your crimes ! 
She will say, ' My children sought refuge among you, and you shut 
your door against them ! My daughters were carried into bondage, 
and your ships transported them ! My sons implored your aid, and 
you gave it to their enemies ! My cities Avere laid in ruins, and you 
furnished the firebrands ! But for you, the barbarian had been long 
since subdued, and my land the abode of liberty, peace, and happiness ! 
But for you, the fires of Scio had never been kindled, and the blood 
that now stains every blade of grass in my violated territory would 
still have Avarmed hearts more generous than your own ! ' But, how- 
ever great the sufferings of this people, hoAvever formidable their ene- 
mies, or however efiiciently aided by Christian kings, yet God will 
prosper their righteous cause, and scatter confusion among their 
enemies. The spirit of ancient Greece is waked from the slumber of 
ages ! The tongue of Demosthenes is loosed ! the sword of Miitiades 
is draAvn ! every strait is a Salamis, and CA'ery sailor a Themistocles ! a 
Leonidas starts up in every peasant, and every mountain pass becomes 
a new Thermopyloe ! And not only in Greece shall the Moloch of 



JOSEPH BARTLETT. 405 

royalty be overturned, but in whatever corner of Europe the idol can 
find worshippers. The reign of kings is a violation of natural right. 
The cause of mankind is not their cause. The day of retribution 
approaches ! The clouds are gathering ! The tempest will soon 
burst ! And when royalty shall be swept away in its avenging fury, 
the rainbow of Kepublicanism shall span the heavens, giving promise 
of lasting peace and security ! " 



JOSEPH BARTLETT. 

JULY 4, 1823. A VOLUNTEER ORATIOJf. 

This oration was delivered at the hall in the Exchange CojSee-house, 
including, also, a poem, an ode, and The New Vicar of Bray, — all 
written and delivered by himself. He was born at Plymouth, June 
10, 1762; graduated at Harvard College in 1782; and married Ann 
Witherell, of Plymouth. He was a counsellor-at-law in Woburn, 
Portsmouth, and Boston. Was captain of the Republican Volunteers, 
in 1788. In 1799 Mr. Bartlett published "Physiognomy," a poem 
recited before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard College. He 
was a senator of York, Maine, 1804 ; and editor of the Freeman's 
Friend, at Saco, in 1805, when he dehvered an oration at Biddeford, 
July 4, 1805. Had not Mr. Bartlett descended to habits of inebria- 
tion, his influence might have been of the highest order. 

He was of highly facetious memory. The passage herewith given 
is selected from The New Vicar of Bray, recited after the delivery of 
the oration, at the Exchange Coffee-house : 

" We now see much ujoon the earth. 

Especially in Boston, 
Which gives to man a vigorous birth. 

And keeps our souls in motion. 
Boston a city now is made, — 

Our officers elected, — 
'T is best for every class and trade. 

Our mayor will be respected. 
Our Quincy, now, by all admired, — 

The city's pride and glory, — 
May he the difference never know 

'Twixt Federalist and Tory. 



406 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Quincy, who now rules o'er our land. 

Will keep the city safe, sir ; 
He 's been found equal to command. 

And ne'er neglects her good, sir. 
The aldermen will turtle leave, 

To rally round the board, sir ; 
They to the city charter cleave, — 

In those we place our trust, sir." 

He -was author of a work replete with spicy wit, comprising Aphor- 
isms on Men, Manners, Principles and Things, printed at Boston, 
1823. Shortly previous to his decease (Oct. 27, 1827, aged sixty- 
six years), Mr. Bartlett wrote the following epitaph on himself, which 
he repeated on his death-bed : 

" 'T is done ! the fatal stroke is given, 
And Bartlett 's fled to hell or heaven ; 
His friends approve it, and his foes applaud, — 
Yet he will have the verdict of his God." 

Mr. Bartlett, when attending the funeral of John Hale, an estimable 
citizen of Portsmouth, recited the following epitaph to his memory : 

" God takes the good, 

Too good by flvr to stay. 
And leaves the bad, 
Too bad to take away." 



FRANCIS BASSETT. 

JULY i, 1824. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

Was born at Dennis, Mass. ; graduated at Harvard College in 
1810 ; is not a married man. He Avas a counsellor-at-law, and for 
many years clerk of the United States District Court, of this State. 
Has been a representative; was of the school committee from 1822 to 
1826, at Avhich period he was elected to the city Council. In 1839 
Mr. Bassett gave the following sentiment, at the Cape Cod celebration, 
ill Barnstable : " Cape Cod : The first-discovered land of the Pilgrims, 
— it will be the last to lose sight of their virtues." He is of a truly 
estimable character, and remarkable for bland and affable manners. 



JOHN EVERETT. 407 

JOHN EVERETT. 

JULY 4, 1824. FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

John Everett was a son of the Hon. Oliver Everett, and was 
born at Dorchester, February 22, 1801. He received his preliminary 
education under the tuition of Masters Lyon, Farrar and Clapp, in 
Boston, where he distinguished himself as the finest declaimer in the 
school. He graduated at Harvard College in 1818, when he pro- 
nounced an oration on the character of Byron ; and at a college exhi- 
bition, in the year previous, he gave an oration on the Poetry of the 
Oriental Nations. He delivered another oration, on the Prospects of 
the Young Men of America, before the senior class, July 14, 1818. 
Immediately after his graduation, he accompanied President Holley to 
Lexington, in Kentucky, where he became a tutor in Transylvania 
University, and delivered an unwritten oration, in the presence of 
Andrew Jackson, that was eminently successful. After his return 
to Massachusetts, Mr. Everett entered the Law School, at Cambridge ; 
soon after which, he visited Europe, and was attached, for a short 
period, to the American legation at Brussels and the Hague, — his 
elder brother, Alexander, being charge d'affaires. On his return to 
Boston, he read law under the guidance of the Hon. Daniel Webster, 
and became an attorney at the Court of Common Pleas, in 1825. He 
served as one of the aids of Governor Eustis. He was a bud of promise 
early blighted. He died at Boston, Feb. 12, 1826. 

Mr. Everett was intensely interested in the politics of the day ; and 
was an active member of the Boston Debating Society, a literary and 
political institution of elevated character. Having remarkable extem- 
poraneous rhetorical power, and great facility in argument, he shortly 
became an important leader among these spirited young Bostonians. 
He had superior poetical genius, as is clearly evinced in an ode to St. 
Paul's Church; and by another ode, written for the Washington 
Society (of which he was a member), and sung at Concert Hall, July 
4, 1825. The first lines of this patriotic effusion arc as follows : 

" Hail to the day, when, indignant, a nation 

To the spirit of armies for justice ajipealed ; 
With pride claimed the right of her glorious station, 
And truth, taught by wisdom, in valor revealed ! 
Hail to thy memory, era of liberty! 
Dear is thy sun to the hearts of the free ! ' ' 



408 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORXtORS. 

CHARLES SPRAGUE. 

JULY 4, 1825. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

" If, in remembering the oppressed, you think the oppressors ought 
not to be forgotten," says Sprague, " I might urge that the splendid 
result of the great struggle should fully reconcile us to the madness of 
those who rendered that struggle necessary. We may forgive the 
presumption Avhich ' declared ' its right ' to bind the American colo- 
nies,' for it -vvas wofully expiated by the humiliation which 'acknowl- 
edged ' those same ' American colonies ' to be ' sovereign and inde- 
pendent States.' The immediate workers, too, of that political iniquity, 
have passed away. The mildew of shame will forever feed upon their 
memories ; — a brand has been set upon their deeds, that even Time's 
all-gnawing tooth can never destroy. But they have passed away ; 
and of all the millions they misruled, the millions they u-mild have 
misruled, how few remain ! Another race is there to lament the folly, 
another here to magnify the wisdom, that cut the knot of empire. 
Shall these inherit and entail everlasting enmity 1 Like the Cartha- 
ginian Hamilcar, shall we come up hither with our children, and on 
this holy altar swear the pagan oath of undying hate ? Even our 
goaded flithers disdained this. Let us fulfil their words, and prove to 
the people of England, that ' in peace ' we know how to treat them 
'as friends.' They have been twice told that 'in war' we know how 
to meet them ' as enemies ; ' and they will hardly ask another lesson, 
for, it may be that, when the third trumpet shall sound, a voice will 
echo along their sea-girt cliffs — ' The glory has departed ! ' 

" Some few of their degenerate ones, tainting the bowers where they 
sit, decry the growing greatness of a land they will not love ; and 
others, after eating from our basket, and drinking from our cup, go 
home to pour forth the senseless libel against a people at whose fire- 
sides they were warmed. But a few pens dipped in gall will not 
retard our progress ; let not a few tongues, festering in falsehood, dis- 
turb our repose. We have those among us who are able both to pare 
the talons of the kite and pull out the fangs of the viper ; who can lay 
bare, for the disgust of all good men, the gangrene of the insolent 
reviewer, and inflict such a cruel mark on the back of the mortified 
runaway, as will take long from him the blessed privilege of being 
forgotten. 



CHARLES SPRAGUE. 409 

"These rude detractors speak not, we trust, the feelings of their 
nation. Time, the great corrector, is there fast enlightening both 
ruler and ruled. They are treading in our steps, even ours ; and are 
gi-aduallj, though slowly, pulling up their ancient religious and polit- 
ical landmarks. Yielding to the liberal spirit of the age, — a spirit 
born and fostered here, — they are not only loosening their own long- 
riveted shackles, but are raising the voice of encouragement, and 
extending the hand of assistance, to the ' rebels ' of other climes. 

"In spite of all that has passed, we owe England much; and even 
on this occasion, standing in the midst of my generous-minded coun- 
trymen, I may fearlessly, willingly, acknowledge the debt. We owe 
England much ; — nothing for her martyrdoms ; nothing for her pro- 
scriptions ; nothing for the innocent blood with which she has stained 
the white robes of religion and liberty ; — these claims our fathers 
cancelled, and her monarch rendered them and theirs a full acquittance 
forever. But for the living treasures of her mind, garnered up and 
spread abroad for centuries by her great and gifted, who that has 
drank at the sparkling streams of her poetry, who that has ^rawn 
from the deep fountains of her wisdom, who that speaks and reads and 
thinks her language, will be slow to own his obligation 'I One of your 
purest ascended patriots, — Quincy, — he who compassed sea and land 
for Liberty, whose early voice for her echoed round yonder consecrated 
hall, whose dying accents for her went up in solitude and suffering 
from the ocean, — when he sat down to bless, with the last token of 
a father's remembrance, the son who wears his mantle with his name, 
bequeathed him the recorded lessons of England's best and wisest, and 
sealed the legacy of love with a prayer, whose full accomplishment we 
live to witness, — ' that the spirit of Liberty might rest upon him.' " 

Charles Sprague was born in Boston, Oct. 26, 1791. His birth- 
place was in a two-story wooden house, directly opposite Pine-street, 
then No. 38 Orange-street. In 1842 this house was destroyed, at an 
extensive fire. His father, Samuel Sprague, was born at Hingham, 
Dec. 22, 1T53 ; was a mason, and married Joanna Thayer, of Brain- 
tree, a lady of great decision of character, who was highly effective in 
developing the genius of her son. Hingham was the home of his 
ancestors during five generations. His father was one of that famous 
party who destroyed the British tea in Boston harbor, December, 
1773, and was a tall and athletic person. When in the hold of one 
of the tea-ships, where he was actively engaged, one of the party made 
35 



410 THE IIUXDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

signs to him, from below, to cover his face "with some disguise ; on 
which, Mr. Sprague hastened to a small house near the head of Grif- 
fin's, now Liverpool Wharf, with a wooden chimney, from which he 
shortly collected a substance that served the purpose hinted at by his 
unknown friend, when he directly returned to the work of destruction. 
At this time he was an apprentice of one Mr. Etheridge, who interested 
himself, also, in this bold and patriotic adventure. 

We find, in Thomas' Spy, of January, 1774, the following graphic 
sketch of this event, which, next to the massacre of 1770, tended to 
hasten the Revolution : 

" As near beauteous Boston lying, 

On the gently-swelling flood, 
Without jack or pendant flying, 

Three ill-fated tea-ships rode. 
Just as glorious Sol was setting, 

On the wharf a numerous crew. 
Sons of Freedom, fear forgetting, 

Suddenly appeared in view. 
^ Armed with hammer, axe and chisels, — 

Weapons new for wai-like deed, — 
Towards the herbage-freighted vessels 

They approached with dreadful speed. 
O'er their heads aloft in mid sky, 

Three bright angel forms were seen ; 
This was Hampden, that was Sidney, 

With fair Liberty between. 
' Soon,' they cried, ' your foes you '11 banish. 

Soon the triumph shall be won ; 
Scarce shall setting Phoebus vanish, 

Ere the deathless deed be done. ' 
Quick as thought, the ships were boarded. 

Hatches burst, and chests displayed ; 
Axes, hammers, help afl"orded, — 

What a glorious crash they made ! 
Squash into the deep descended 

Cursed weed of China's coast, — 
Thus at once our feai's were ended ; 

British rights shall ne'er be lost. 
Captains ! once more hoist your streamers. 

Spread your sails, and plough the wave ; 
Tell your masters they were dreamers, 

When they thought to cheat the brave." 

Young Sprague, when about five years of age, entered the Franklin 
School, where he unfortunately lost the vision of his left eye, by a 



CHAKLES SPRAGUE. 411 

sudden contact with a door-latch. This event probably accounts, in a 
measure, for the very hmited number of his poetical productions, in 
after life. The school-house was located in Nassau-street ; and the 
spot is occupied by a modern edifice, called the Brimmer School, in 
honor of the mayor of that name ; and the name of the street is changed 
to Common-street. His teachers, in the grammar department, were 
Dr. Asa Bullard and Lemuel Shaw, both of whom were benevolent, 
sensible, and learned men. The teacher last named, who had recently 
graduated at Harvard College, and entered this school to acquire funds 
for his college expenses, was the son of a poor clergyman of Barnstable. 
He has risen to eminence by energetic perseverance, and is the Chief 
Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. The writing-master of 
this school was the noted Rufus Webb. At the early age of tliirteen 
years, young Sprague became an apprentice to Messrs. Thayer & 
Hunt, importers of dry goods. Boys of the Brimmer School ! catch 
the inspiration of the spot where the genius of Sprague budded forth, 
and, like him, be ambitious to excel in learning and in manly virtue. 
Two centuries elapsed before Boston knew a poet like Sprague. 
Hereafter, may your nursery bloom annually with flowers as unfading. 

In the year 1816 Mr. Sprague entered into partnership with his 
employers, which continued until 1820, when hoAvas appointed a teller 
in the State Bank ; and, on the establishment of the Globe Bank, in 
1825, he was elected the cashier, which station he has occupied until 
this period. His wisdom and sagacity in the conduct of this institu- 
tion, aided by the directors, has tended to make it one of the safest 
investments in State-street. 

Waterston thus emphasizes of our poet : 

«' May not our land be termed enchanted ground, 
When on bank-bills a poet's name is found ? 
Where poets' notes may pass for notes of hand, 
And valued good, long as the Globe shall stand ? 
The world can never Cjueuch that kindling fire, 
Or break the strings of that immoi-tal lyre. 
Sweet, and more sweet, its melting strains shall rise. 
Till his rapt spirit seeks his native skies." 

The social qualities of Charles Sprague have been the delight of 
eminent intellectual men, one of whom was Nathaniel Bowditch, who, 
being a member of the corporation of Harvard College, and admiring 
his rare genius, and close devotion to literary habits, without infringing 



412 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

on the duties of his station in the bank, used his influence to effect 
for Mr. Sprague an honorary degree at the commencement of 1829, 
in that college, when he delivered the ingenious poem on Curiosity, 
before the Phi Beta Kappa Society, of which he has ever since been a 
member. WTiat Landor said of another may be effectively applied to 
Sprague, — for his companionable habits are proverbial, and he never 
walks from home without a friend at his side : 

" Since Chaucer was alive and hale. 
No man hath walked along our streets 
With step so active, so inquiring eye, 
Or tongue so varied in discourse." 

In alluding to the warm-hearted Dr. Bowditch, we take pleasure in 
introducing two verses of a favorite effusion from the hand of Sprague, 
which he had often on his lips, entitled the Winged Worshippers, 
and addressed to two swallows that flew into a church during divine 
service : 

"Gay, guiltless pair. 

What seek ye from the fields of heaven ? 
Te have no need of prayer, — 
Ye have no sins to be forgiven. 

" To you 'tis given 

To wake sweet Nature's untaught lays, 
Beneath the arch of heaven 
To chirp away a life of praise." 

In May, 1814, Mr. Sprague was married, by Rev. Horace Holley, 
to Miss Ehzabeth Rand. His son, Charles James, was married to 
Amelia M. Stodder; and his daughter, Helen Elizabeth, who died 
April, 1851, after the decease of an infant son, was married to Ezra 
Lincoln, Esq., an aid to Gov. Briggs. Mr. Sprague was elected to 
the city Council in 1823, '24 and '27, and was active in public debate. 
His capacities would readily lead him to eminent public political rank, 
but he prefers the quiet of retired literary and financial pursuits. With 
a private library of three thousand volumes, in every department of 
intellect, and a rare collection of paintings and sculpture, his mind 
ever revels in elevated conceptions. An accurate bust of our poet, by 
Brackett, is in the care of his son-in-law. 

Where is the native poet of Boston who is destined, like our own 
Charles Sprague, to be a standard national author ? Indeed, it may be 
safely said, that Sprague our poet, and Prescott our historian, will 



CHARLES SPRAGUE. 413 

never become obsolete. One has thus sung of Sprague, in rather cold 
terms: 

«' Great is hig merit, — greater still his fame ; 
Bright, but not dazzling, burns his steady flame ; 
His is the sterling bullion thrice refined. 
Bright from the rich exchequer of his muid. 
Sense, strength and classic purity, combine 
With genius, in his almost faultless line. 
Trained in the olden school, his tide of song 
Bears truth and judgment on its breast along." 

Amid a host of competitors, Charles Sprague received the prize, six 
times, for producing the best poems for the American stage,— an instance 
unprecedented in our literary annals. Were it not for the quenched 
light of an eye, he would have been the more universal admiration of 
his country. He has been compared to Pope and Gray ; but he exhib- 
its none of the artificial stateliness of the former, and more than the 
mellowing sweetness of the latter, excelling both in fervid warmth. 
Kettell says that we can have no difficulty in foreseeing the perpetuity 
of such reputation as that which belongs to him. Every sentence is 
bursting with thought. He deals in no dreamy obscurity; he allows 
no inharmonious line to pass; — all is finished, and full of purpose. 

We know not the particle of dross in the beaten gold of Sprague ; for 
there is not a sentence in all his productions that we would change, 
either in sentiment or in mode of expression. It was the reply of a 
friend to Mr. Sprague, who remarked that his poems may do very well 
to sleep over, — "No, sir; they are like champagne, that keeps one wide 
awake all the night long." Sprague dares to acknowledge his homage 
to the Nine, in the very temple of the money-changers ; and enjoys, 
at the same time, the most favoring inspirations of the former, and the 
unlimited confidence and credit of the latter. The Globe Bank has 
never foiled to make a dividend ; and its cashier has never failed to be 
at his station, on the very day when the books were opened for the 
purpose, to this period. 

When Lord Byron deceased at Missolonghi, in Greece, April 19, 
1824, a funeral oration was delivered by Spiridion Tucoupi over his 
remains, and pubhshed by the public authorities. The body was 
embalmed, and sent, May 2d, to Zante, whence it was designed, at the 
express order of Ulysses Odysseus, Governor of Athens, that he should 
be deposited in the Temple of Theseus, or in the Parthenon ; and it was 
intended, also, that his heart should be enclosed in an urn, that Greek 
35* 



414 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

maidenSj and other admirers, might weep over it. But his tenacious 
English friends caused that they should be entombed in the ancestral 
vault of the Byrons, at Ilucknell. two miles from Newstead Abbey. 
This urn is placed beside the coffin, on which is inscribed, "Within 
this Urn are deposited the heart, brains, &c., of the deceased Lord 
Byron." Before the information of the removal of Byron's remains 
from Greece, Mr. Sprague, presuming that they would remain in the 
land where his ever-during poem was written, advanced the forthcom- 
ing sentiment, at the celebration of independence, July 4th of that 
year, when the Boston Debating Society, of which he was the vice- 
president, dined at Rouillard's, in Devonshire-street : " To the memory 
of the immortal Byron : 

" O'er the heart of Childe Harold 

Greek maidens shall weep ; 

In his own native island 

His body shall sleep 
With the bones of the bravest and best ; 

But his song shall go down 

To the latest of time ; 

Fame tell how he rose 

For earth's loveliest clime, 
And Mercy shall blot out the rest." 

We have observed the remark of John Quincy Adams regarding 
Sprague's poem on Art, that "in forty lines was comprised an ency- 
clopedia of description." The idea is poetical, and the expression is 
worthy the idea. It is, in mere execution, the most happy of all 
Sprague's productions ; and it may be commended to versifiers as a 
model of correct, condensed, melodious language. In the Ode on 
Shakspeare, he has soared in his most daring flight ; and proved him- 
self as capable of rising into the imaginative, as of flitting about 
among the realities of human life, with its joys and sorrows. The 
birth of Shakspeare is thus described : 

" There on its bank, 

Beneath the mulberry's shade. 
Wrapped in young dreams, 

A wild-eyed minstrel strayed ; 
Lighting there, and lingering long. 
Thou didst teach the bard his song. 
Thy fingers struck his sleeping shell. 

And round his brows a garland curled ; 
On his lips thy spirit fell. 

And bade him wake, and warm the world." 



CHARLES SPRAGUE. 415 

On the triumphal entry of Lafayette into the city of Boston, Aug. 
24, 1824, an arch was extended across Washington to Dover street, 
above South Boston Bridge, on the very spot -where, when Lafayette 
left the town in 1787, were the remains of a breastwork, erected dur- 
ing the Kevolutionary contest, adjoining Fort-avenue, opposite the pres- 
ent Frankhn School. At each side of the arch was planted a tree of 
oak, and another of pine, about twenty feet in height; and the pillars 
were tastefully wreathed with evergreens and flowers. The arch itself 
was decorated with American flags and evergreens ; and from its centre 
a scroll was suspended, bearing the inscription which follows, written, at 
the impulse of the moment, by our own Charles Sprague, on the day 
previous to the reception. On passing under the triumphal arch, the 
thronging crowd witnessed Mayor Quincy, in a barouche with Lafay- 
ette, pointing towards the inscription, directing, with animated eye, the 
special notice of it to the warm-hearted Frenchman, whose patriotic 
enthusiasm must have been excited to tears : 

" "Welcome, Lafayette ! 

" The fathers in glory shall sleep, 

That gathered with thee to the fight, 
But the sons will eternally keep 

The tablet of gratitude bright. 
We bow not the neck. 

And we bend not the knee ; 
But our hearts, Lafiiyette, 

We surrender to thee. ' ' 

A writer on American Genius remarks of Charles Sprague, in con- 
trast with Robert Southey, that the majestic and sublime march of 
Sprague, when it is fired by any great and enkindhng theme, or the 
tender and pathetic and soul-melting strains of his Muse, when touched 
by compassion, grief or love, would ill compare with the wild, desul- 
tory, and almost superhuman ramblings and eccentric flights of Southey, 
where we behold the most brilliant flashes of wit and genius, strangely 
and confusedly mingled with much that is trash and nonsense. 

The oration of Mr. Sprague had a more extensive circulation than 
any of its predecessors, six editions having been rapidly taken up. 
Russell said of this performance, that " for purity, simplicity, elegant 
embellishment of style, and for ardent and patriotic feehng, this effort 
of self-taught genius has seldom been equalled by the great and 
learned of the land." Some one said of it, that the electric shock of a 



416 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

nation's gratitude towards Lafayette, that rolls on undying to free- 
dom's furthest mountains, was eloquently infused in the hearts of the 
audience. We cite the remarkable passage herewith, from this beauti- 
ful production, for the purpose of introducing an effective compliment 
from Josiah Quincy, then mayor of the city, and because of its patri- 
otic spirit : 

" Fear not party zeal, — it is the salt of your existence. There are 
no parties under a despotism. There, no man lingers round a ballot- 
box ; no man drinks the poison of a licentious press ; no man plots 
treason at a debating society; no man distracts his head about the sci- 
ence of government. All there is a calm, unruffled sea ; even a dead 
sea of black and bitter v/aters. But we move upon a living stream, — 
forever pure, forever rolling. Its mighty tide sometimes flows higher 
and rushes faster than its wont ; and, as it bounds and foams and dashes 
along, in sparkling violence, it now and then throws up its fleecy cloud. 
But this rises only to disappear ; and, as it fiides away before the sun- 
beams of intelligence and patriotism, you behold upon its bosom the 
rainbow signal of returning peace, arching up to declare that there is 
no danger." 

One may readily conceive the inspiring effect of such conceptions on 
the warm heart of Mayor Quincy. Doubtless, this splendid oration 
Avas the theme of conversation, as the public authorities and invited 
citizens pi'oceeded in procession to the State-house, after its delivery; 
and this felicitous sentiment of the mayor was spontaneously elicited 
at the dinner in Faneuil Hall : '• Real Genius : To which everything is 
easy; which can spring a rainbow over the tempestuous sea of liberty, 
and inscribe its own glories on the heavens Avith the sunbeams Avhich 
constitute it." The toast of the orator, on this occasion, was as fol- 
lows : " Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual : The land where wisdom 
creates the one, and holiness ordains the other ; and where absent mem- 
bers can never vote away the rights of the people by proxy." AYe will 
give another happily-conceived sentiment of Mr. Sprague, at the public- 
school festival in Faneuil Hall, August, 1825, that should be had in 
perpetual remembrance : " May Boston boys remember that Benjamin 
Franklin began his career as a hawker of ballads in their own streets, 
and ended it by making treaties with the kings of Europe." 

Is not the prediction of a recent English reviewer, in writing on the 
poetry of America, entirely gratuitous, in stating that we have not one 
national poet, and that our forests must one day drop down a poet 



CHARLES SPRAGUE, 417 

whose genius shall be worthy of their age, their vastitude, the beauty 
which they enclose, and the load of gratitude below which they bend, 
— when such a poet as the fervent, patriotic and compressive Charles 
Sprague dwells among us, breathing such inspiring remembrances of 
our forefathers as are melodiously tuned in the Centennial Ode, — a pro- 
duction destined to be revived on every Boston centennial celebration, 
to the end of time 7 We unite with the reviewer, in the hope that 
a poet such as he anticipates will "one day drop down" upon our 
country ; but have we not the like, in Charles Sprague, now breathing 
amongst us 'I We will cite a passage to the point, from this patriotic 
ode: 

" Forget ? No, never — ne'er shall die 
Those names to memory dear ; 
I read the promise in each eye 
That beams upon me here. 
Descendants of a twice-recorded race, 
Long may ye here your lofty lineage grace : 
'T is not for you home's tender tie 
To rend, and brave the waste of waves ; 
'T is not for you to rouse and die, 
Or yield and live a line of slaves : 
The deeds of danger and of death are done ; 
Upheld by inward power alone, 
Unhonored by the world's loud tongue, 
'T is youi'S to do unknown, 
And then to die unsung. 
To other days, to other men, belong 
The penman's plaudit and the poet's song ; 
Enough for glory has been wrought ; 
By you be humbler praises sought ; 
In peace and truth life's journey run. 
And keep unsullied what your fathers won." 

The irrepressible thought within him, says a reviewer of Sprague, 
is the only motive that will account for his productions. In his poetry, 
after the presence of those general qualities that are indispensable to 
every poet, — imagination, a seeing eye, mental vigor, an artist's sense 
of proportion, and a rich command of expression, — the chief quality 
to be noticed is his severe and chaste simplicity. This is his peculiar- 
ity : either he must exercise a rigid power of exclusion in his compo- 
sition, or else there never Avas a creative mind more unvisited by 
confused conceptions, incongruous images, or artificial conceits. His 
words are as clear as his thoughts ; his style is as transparent as his 
spirit. What an immense distance separates him from the whole mul- 



418 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

titudinous progeny of modern misty rliapsodists and verse fanciers, so 
desperately determined on originality, that if they cannot give it to us 
in the idea, they Avill make up for it in outlandishness of phraseology, 
and give us specimens of grand and lofty tumbling, on an arena of fog 
and moonbeams ! It is getting to be understood that a mind of native 
force, thirsting for wisdom, and having a message to utter, ^y\\\ proclaim 
itself as certainly from some East India House, Sheffield smithy, 
London reporter's desk, or Globe Bank in Boston, as from the -walks 
of the professions. And, on the other hand, it is a thing not altogether 
unknown, that a blockhead should find his way into and (|uito through 
a university. It is not worth while to be paralyzed with amazement at 
either spectacle, as if it were a miracle. Mr. Sprague's writings have 
no occasion to derive any adventitious distinction from the fact that 
their author handles bank-notes. They have been judged by their 
merits, and can afford to be. 

There needs no inscription to the memory of Charles Sprague, beside 
that of Thomas Campbell, on the Poet's Corner, in Westminster 
Abbey : 

" My Sliakspeare, rise ! I -will not lodge thee by- 
Chaucer or Spenser ; or bid Beaumont lie 
A little further to make thee a room ; 
Thou art a monument without a tomb, 
And art alive still, while thy book doth live. 
And we have wits to read, and praise to give." 



JOSIAH QUINCY. 

JULY 4, 1826. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

This second oration of the senior Quincy breathes fervently the 
spirit of patriotism. He says : "Parents and children! We have 
come to the altar of our common faith, not like the Carthaginian, to 
swear enmity to another nation, but. in the spirit of obedience, and 
under a sense of moral and religious obligation, to inquire what it is to 
fulfil well our duty to ourselves and our posterity. And while we pass 
before our eyes, in long array, the outspread images of our fathers' 
virtues, let us strive to excite in our own bosoms, and enkindle in each 



419 

other's, that intense and sacred zeal by which their patriotism was ani- 
mated and refined. Fifty years after the occurrence of the greatest 
of our national events, we gather with our children around the tombs 
of our fathers, as we trust, — and may Heaven so grant ! — fifty years 
hence, those children will gather around ours, in the spirit of gratitude 
and honor, to contemplate their glory, to seek the lessons suggested by 
their example, and to examine the principles on which they laid the 
foundations of their country's prosperity and greatness." 



DAVID LEE CHILD. 

JULY 4, 182G. FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

Was born at West Boylston; graduated at Harvard College in 
1817, when he took part in a disputation, whether the power of elo- 
quence be diminished by the progress of literature and science ; became 
a teacher in the Boston Latin School, and married Lydia Maria Francis, 
author of the Boston Rebels. He was private secretary to Gen. Dear- 
born, when minister to Portugal, and was an officer in the Spanish 
American service ; was captain of the Independent Fusileers : brigade 
major and member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery ; was a 
Boston representative in 1827; an editor of the Massachusetts Whig; 
became a zealous abolitionist, and was author of a pamphlet on the 
Blessings of Freedom ; was a manufacturer of beet-sugar, and settled 
in the western country. He was a fine classical Avriter, and very 
tenacious' of his opinions. His oration on National Independence is a 
highly spirited, classical, and patriotic performance. We will quote a 
passage : "Dr. Johnson, the pensioned advocate of passive submission, 
the ministerial pamphleteer of the American Revolution, derives one 
of his best titles to respect and admiration from a temporary exhibition, 
on one occasion, of that inflexible firmness and proud independence of 
character which belong peculiarly to republicans. We admire him for 
his indignant, yet decorous, reply to Lord Chesterfield, — for his Roman- 
like contempt of title and wealth, coupled with meanness and hypoc- 
risy ; and it may be safely asserted that Chesterfield, with all his wit, 
his learning, and his eloquence, — all the triumphs of the drawing- 
room and the honors of the peerage, — has left no action, — nay, that all 



420 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

his actions together, his accomplishments, his speeches, his sayings 
and his pohshcd letters ; — all do not occupy so large a space, in the 
memory and admiration of men, as that single republican letter, in 
which the lexicographer repels the cold and selfish patronage of the 
peer. Where his own feelings and dignity were concerned, Johnson 
could assume the port and bearing of a Roman ; but, when there was 
nothing at stake but the dignity and prosperity of these distant colo- 
nies, Avho, he said, ' did not know how to read,' he shrunk again into 
the obsequious courtier, bribed by an exchequer warrant, and excited 
to childish glee by a word and a smile from majesty." 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 

AUGUST 2, 182C. EULOGY ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 

The popular sentiment is more powerfully influenced by the ora- 
tions and speeches that perpetually rise and enter the public mind, 
than by any other medium, our free press only excepted ; and, though 
our poets often provide our orators with rockets, shells and artillery, 
and sometimes Avin their battles, they are never so well rewarded for 
their genius as the political orator. What Napoleon once said, — 
that four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a hundred 
thousand bayonets, — may be very properly applied to such men as 
Daniel Webster and Edward Everett, in their power over the people. 
As the orations of Demosthenes and Cicero have passed onward from 
age to age, and have been received by successive generations with the 
same sense of force and freshness as Avhen first published, so the con- 
densed orations of Webster and Everett are destined to become the 
classics of all posterity, and receive hke veneration. Indeed, we know 
not the political orators of America who have unfolded the principles 
of our constitution with more power and beauty ; and the masculine 
vigor of Daniel Webster forcibly reminds one of the lion-hearted Rich- 
ard, in Scott's Crusaders, whose muscular power Avas so effective that 
he would sever a massive bar of iron Avith his broad-sword as readily as 
the Avoodman rends a sapling with a hedging-bill ; Avhile the rhetorical 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 421 

power of Edward Everett resembles the sultan Saladin, with his 
nicelj-curved scimitar, marked with meandering lines, who applied its 
fine edge so dexterously to a silken cushion, that it seemed rather to 
fall asunder than to divide by force. 

The eloquent eulogy of INIr. Webster, named at the head of this arti- 
cle, was pronounced on a day selected, it is said, as peculiarly suitable, 
for the reason that it was the day when the signers of the Declaration 
of Independence who had not given their signatures on the fourth of 
July, 1776, rendered it complete by affixing their names. The body 
of Ccesar was not so much the object of solemn curiosity, as was the 
eulogy of Mark Antony on his character ; and, if possible, as intense 
was the interest, on this occasion, to listen to Webster's eulogy on the 
great statesmen. Never, since the pathetic oration of Morton over the 
remains of Warren, was there a more thrilling effort, in this country, 
on a similar occasion. " Although no sculptured marble should rise 
to their memory," said Webster, '-nor engraved stone bear record of 
their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they 
honored. Marble columns may, indeed, moulder into dust, time may 
erase all impress from the crumbling stone ; but their fame remains, — 
for with American liberty only can it perish." The conception of the 
appellation of "the godlike Webster" was originated by the delivery 
of this inimitable eulogy. The editor of the National Philanthropist, 
the first temperance editor in the Union, in enlarging on its extreme 
beauty, in that journal, on the sixth day of August, remarks: "To 
say of this production that it was eloquent, would be too common an 
expression to apply to such a performance. It was profound, — it was 
sublime, — it was godlike." This remark was heralded over the land 
as of party origin, and was long the source of levity and sarcasm. It 
is our opinion that the first patriot who received this superlative appel- 
lation Avas Joseph Warren, as may be seen in a poetical tribute 
written shortly after his decease, and appended to the memoir in this 
volume. 

"It has, perhaps," remarks Edward Everett, in his biography of 
Webster, " never been the fortune of an orator to treat a subject in all 
respects so extraordinary as that which called forth the eulogy on 
Adams and Jefferson ; a subject in which the characters commemo- 
rated, the field of action, the magnitude of the events, and the peculiar 
personal relations, were so important and unusual. Certainly, it is 
not extravagant to add, that no similar effort of oratory was ever more 
3G 



422 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

completely successful. The speech ascribed to John Adams, in the 
Continental Congress, on the subject of declaring the independence of 
the colonies, — a speech, of -which the topics, of course, present them- 
selves on the most superficial consideration of the subject, but of which 
a few hints only of what was actually said are supplied by the letters 
and diaries of Mr. Adams, — is not excelled by anything of the kind in 
our language. Few things have taken so strong a hold of the public 
mind. It thrills and delights alike the student of history, who recog- 
nizes it at once as the creation of the orator, and the common reader, 
who takes it to be the composition, not of Mr. Webster, but of Mr. 
Adams. From the time the eulogy was delivered, to the present day, 
the inquiry has been often made and repeated, — sometimes even in 
letters addressed to Webster himself, — whether this exquisite appeal 
is his or Mr. Adams'." 

Before introducing the passage from Webster's eulogy, we will 
quote, from the autobiography of John Adams, his own remarks in 
relation to his own speech on that august occasion. We find it under 
date of July 1, 1776 : "It has been said, by some of our historians, 
that I began by an invocation to the god of eloquence. This is a mis- 
representation. Nothing so puerile as this fell from me. I began by 
saying that this was the first time of my life that I had ever wished 
for the talents and eloquence of the ancient orators of Greece and 
Rome, for I was very sure that none of them ever had before him a 
question of more importance to his country and to the world. They 
would, pi'obably, upon less occasions than this, have begun by solemn 
invocations to their divinities for assistance ; but the question before 
me appeared so simple, that I had confidence enough in the plain 
understanding and common sense that had been given me, to believe 
that I could answer, to the satisfaction of the House, all the arguments 
which had been produced, notwithstanding the abilities which had been 
displayed, and the eloquence with which they had been enforced. Mr. 
Dickinson, some years afterwards, published his speech. I had made 
no preparation beforehand, and never committed any minutes of mine 
to writing. But, if I had a copy of Mr. Dickinson's before me, 
would now, after ninc-and-twenty years have elapsed, endeavor to 
recollect mine." 

For mascuHne power, there is no rhetoric in the whole range of our 
national oratory excelling the imagined speech of our great Nestor, 
which is here introduced with the preceding supposed remarks of John 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 423 

Dickinson, of Dela-\vare, an over-cautious member of the same patriotic 
assembly, -who, though he never signed the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, stated afterwards that he was the only member who marched to 
face the enemy. 

In allusion to the Continental Congress, which was about to decide 
a question involving the fate of the colonies, Mr. Webster says: 
"Let us open their doors, and look in upon their deliberations. Let 
us survey the anxious and care-worn countenances, let us hear the 
firm-toned voices, of this band of patriots. 

"Hancock presides over the solemn sitting; and one of those not 
yet prepared to pronounce for absolute independence is on the floor, 
and is urging his reasons for dissenting from the declaration : 

" ' Let us pause ! This step, once taken, cannot be retraced. This 
resolution, once passed, will cut off all hope of reconciliation. If success 
attend the arms of England, we shall then be no longer colonies, with 
charters, and with privileges ; these will all be forfeited by this act ; 
and we shall be in the condition of other conquered people, at the 
mercy of the conquerors. For ourselves, we may be ready to run the 
hazard, — but are we ready to carry the country to that length? Is 
success so probable as to justify it ? Where is the military, where the 
naval power, by which we are to resist the whole strength of the arm 
of England ? — for she will exert that strength to the utmost. Can we 
rely on the constancy and perseverance of the people ? or will they 
not act as the people of other countries have acted, and, wearied with 
a long war, submit, in the end, to a worse oppression ? While we 
stand on our old ground, and insist on redress of grievances, we know 
we are right, and are not answerable for consequences. Nothing, 
then, can be imputable to us. But if we now change our object, 
carry our pretensions further, and set up for absolute independence, we 
shall lose the sympathy of mankind. We shall no longer be defending 
what we possess, but strugghng for something which we never did 
possess, and which we have solemnly and uniformly disclaimed all 
intention of pursuing, from the very outset of the troubles. Aban- 
doning thus our old ground, of resistance only to arbitrary acts of 
oppression, the nations will believe the whole to have been mere pre- 
tence, and they will look on us, not as injured, but as ambitious, 
subjects. I shudder, before tliis responsibility. It will be on us, if, 
relinquishing the ground we have stood on so long, and stood on so 
safely, we now proclaim independence, and carry on the war for that 



424 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS, 

object, while tliese cities burn, these pleasant fields whiten and bleach 
with the bones of their owners, and these streams run blood. It will 
be upon us, it will be upon us, if, fliiling to maintain this unseasoned 
and ill-judged declaration, a sterner despotism, maintained by military 
power, shall be established over our posterity, — when we ourselves, 
given up by an exhausted, a harassed, a misled people, shall have 
expiated our rashness and atoned for our presumption, on the scaf- 
fold!' 

" It was for ]\Ir. Adams to reply to arguments like these. We 
know his opinions, and we know his character. He would commence 
with his accustomed directness and earnestness : 

" ' Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and 
my heart to this vote. It is true, indeed, that, in the beginning, we 
aimed not at independence. But there 's a divinity which shapes our 
ends. The injustice of England has driven us to arms ; and, blinded to 
her own interest for our good, she has obstinately persisted, till independ- 
ence is now within our grasp. We have but to reach forth to it, and 
it is ours. Why, then, should we defer the declaration ? Is any man 
so weak as now to hope for a reconciliation with England, which shall 
leave either safety to the country and its liberties, or safety to his own 
life, and his own honors Are not you, sir, who sit in that chair, — 
is not he, our venerable colleague near you, — are you not both already 
the proscribed and predestined objects of punishment and of ven- 
geance ? Cut off from all hope of royal clemency, what are you, what 
can you be, while the power of England remains, but outlaws 7 If we 
postpone independence, do we mean to carry on, or to give up, the 
war 7 Do we mean to submit to the measures of Parliament, Boston 
Port Bill and all 7 Do we mean to submit, and consent that we our- 
selves shall be ground to powder, and our country and its rights 
trodden down in the dust 7 I know we do not mean to submit. We 
never shall submit. Do we intend to violate that most solemn obliga- 
tion ever entered into by men, that plighting, before God, of our sacred 
honor to Washington, when, putting him forth to incur the dangers of 
war, as well as the political hazards of the times, we promised to adhere 
to him, in every extremity, with our fortunes and our lives 7 I know 
there is not a man here who would not rather see a general conflagra- 
tion sweep over the land, or an earthquake sink it, than one jot or 
tittle of that plighted faith fall to the ground. For myself, having, 
twelve months ago, in this place, moved you that George Washington 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 425 

be appointed commander of tlie forces, raised or to be raised, for 
defence of American liberty, may my right hand forget her cunning, 
and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I hesitate or waver 
in the support I give him. The war, then, must go on. We must 
fight it through. And if the war must go on, why put off longer the 
declaration of independence ? That measure will strengthen us. It 
will give us character abroad. The nations will then treat with us, 
which they never can do while we acknowledge ourselves subjects, in 
arms against our sovereign. Nay, I maintain that England, herself, 
will sooner treat for peace with us on the footing of independence, 
than consent, by repealing her acts, to acknowledge that her whole 
conduct towards us has been a course of injustice and oppression. 
Her pride will be less wounded, by submitting to that course of things 
which now predestinates our independence, than by yielding the points 
in controversy to her rebellious subjects. The former she would 
regard as the result of fortune ; the latter she would feel as her own 
deep disgrace. Why, then, — why, then, sir, do we not, as soon as 
possible, change this from a civil to a national war? And. since we 
must fight it through, why not put ourselves in a state to enjoy all the 
benefits of victory, if we gain the victory 7 

'• ' If we fail, it can be no worse for us. But we shall not fail. The 
cause will raise up armies ; the cause will create navies. The people, 
the people, if we are true to them, will carry us, and will carry them- 
selves, gloriously, through this struggle. I care not how fickle other 
people have been found. I know the people of these colonies ; and I 
know that resistance to British aggression is deep and settled in their 
hearts, and cannot be eradicated. Every colony, indeed, has expressed 
its willingness to follow, if we but take the lead. Sir, the declaration 
will inspire the people with increased courage. Instead of a long and 
bloody war for restoration of privileges, for redress of grievances, for 
chartered immunities, held under a British king, set before them the 
glorious object of entire independence, and it will breathe into them 
anew the breath of life. Read this declaration at the head of the army ; 
every sword will be drawn from its scabbard, and the solemn vow 
uttered, to maintain it, or to perish on the bed of honor. Publish it, 
from the pulpit ; religion will approve it, and the love of religious lib- 
erty will cling round it, resolved to stand with it, or fall with it. Send 
it to the public halls ; proclaim it there ; let them hear it who heard 
the first roar of the enemy's cannon : let them see it who saw their 
36* 



426 TUE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

brothers and their sons fall on the field of Bunker Hill, and in the 
streets of Lexington and Concord, and the very walls will cry out in 
its support. 

" ' Sir, I know the uncertainty of human affairs, but I see, I see 
clearly, through this day's business. You and I, indeed, may rue it. 
We may not live to the time when this declaration shall be made good. 
We may die ; die, colonists ; die, slaves ; die, it may be, ignominiously 
and on the scaffold. Be it so. Be it so. If it be the pleasure of 
Heaven that my country shall require the poor offering of my life, the 
victim shall be ready at the appointed hour of sacrifice, come when 
that hour may. But. while I do live, let me have a country, — or, 
at least, the hope of a country, — and that a free country ! 

" ' But, whatever may be our fate, be assured, be assured, that 
this declaration will stand. It may cost treasure, and it may cost 
blood; but it will stand, and it will richly compensate for both. 
Through the thick gloom of the present, I see the brightness of the 
future, as the sun in heaven. We shall make this a glorious, an 
immortal day. When we are in our graves, our children will honor it. 
They Avill celebrate it, with thanksgiving, with festivity, with bonfires, 
and illuminations. On its annual return, they will shed tears, — copi- 
ous, gushing tears, — not of subjection and slavery, not of agony and 
distress, but of exultation, of gratitude, and of joy. Sir, before God, 
I believe the hour is come. Mj judgment approves this measure, and 
my whole heart is in it. All that I have, and all that I am, and all 
that I hope, in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it ; and I 
leave off, as I begun, that, hve or die, survive or perish, I am for the 
declaration. It is my living sentiment, and, by the blessing of God, 
it shall be my dying sentiment; — independence 7ioio, and inde- 
pendence FOREVER.' " 

Daniel Webster was a son of Hon. Ebenezer Webster ; was born in 
Salisbury, N. H., Jan. 18, 1782, and was the ninth of ten children. 
That portion of his native place is now a part of Franklin. His mother 
was Abigail Eastman, the second wife, and a lady of superior intellect. 
The house in which he was born has been demolished, and not a vestige 
of it remains, but the cellar. The old elm, planted by his father 
sixty years ago, near the paternal dweUing, with its luxuriant 
branches, still flourishes there ; and, not far distant, runs Punch Brook, 
now diminished to a little rivulet. The old well, in which hung an 
iron-bound bucket, remains, with water as pure as ever. The house 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 427 

in -which Daniel was born stood on the north road, far up the western 
hill bordering the valley of the Merrimae. In his youthful days, he 
showed great eagerness for learning, and his constitution was thought 
too frail for any physical pursuit ; therefore, more advantages were ren- 
dered to him than to the other boys of the family. His first teacher 
was Thomas Chase. He could read tolerably well, and wrote a fair 
hand, but speUing was not his forte. His second master was James 
Tappan, now living, at an advanced age, in Gloucester, Mass. His 
qualifications as a teacher far exceeded those of Mr. Chase. The 
worthy veteran, now dignified with the title of Colonel, feels a pride, 
it may well be supposed, in the fame of his quondam friend. At this 
period he contracted a great passion for books, having access to the 
library of Thomas W. Thompson, a young lawyer who boarded in his 
father's family ; and it is related, that, before he was fourteen years 
of age, he became very familiar with the Bible and the poetry of Isaac 
Watts, and could recite the whole of Pope's Essay on Man. On the 
25th of May, 1796, his father mounted his horse, and young Daniel 
mounted another, when they proceeded to Exeter Academy, under the 
supervision of Dr. Benjamin Abbot. Mr. Webster relates of himself 
at this time, in his autobiography : '-My first lessons in Latin were 
recited to Joseph Stevens Buckminster, at that time an assistant at the 
academy. I made tolerable progress in all the branches I attended to 
under his instruction ; but there was one thing I could not do, — I 
could not speak before the school. The kind and excellent Buck- 
minster, especially, sought to persuade me to perform the exercise 
of declamation, like the other boys, — but I could not do it. Many a 
piece did I commit to memory, and rehearse in my own room, over 
and over again ; but, when the day came, when the school collected, 
when my name was called, and I saw all eyes turned upon my seat, I 
could not raise myself from it. Sometimes the masters frowned ; 
sometimes they smiled. Mr. Buckminster always pressed and en- 
treated, with the most winning kindness, that I would only venture 
out ; but I could not command sufBcient resolution, — and, when the 
occasion was over, I went home, and wept bitter tears of mortifica- 
tion." The editor acknowledges the liberal use of Everett's Memoir 
and March's Reminiscences of the great statesman; and the fol- 
lowing detail of further incidents in his early life he gleans from 
Professor Edwin D. Sanborn, who received the relation from the lips 
of Mr. Webster, and wrote the detail on the same day : 



428 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

'• From tlio day ^vlleIl lie entered Exeter Academy, at the age of 
fourteen, to this hour, his hfe has been one uninterrupted scene of 
mental toil. Aged men, -who -were familiar with his early life, men- 
tion, among their earliest recollections of his childhood, a fondness for 
books above his years. His father kept open door for all travellers. 
The teamsters, Avho came from the north, were accustomed to say, 
when they arrived at Judge Webster's house, ' Come, let us give our 
horses some oats, and go in and hear little Dan read a Psalm.' They 
always called for him ; and, leaning upon their long whip-stocks, list- 
ened with delighted attention to the elocution of the young orator. This 
fondness for books first prompted his father to give him a better edu- 
cation than the district school afforded. At Exeter, he had no peer in 
successful and accurate study. His residence there was brief The 
limited means of his father would not warrant the expense of a con- 
tinued residence at that academy. A cheaper method of preparing him 
for college was devised. He was placed under the care of Rev. Sam- 
uel Wood, of Boscawen. who received pupils into his family on very 
moderate terms. On entering this family, his father revealed to him 
his intention of sending him to college. The announcement was 
received with unbounded exultation. No Roman consul ever received 
with greater joy a senatorial decree for a triumph ! Under Dr. Wood's 
tuition, with but an imperfect knowledge of the rudiments of the Latin 
tongue, he read one hundred verses of Virgil at a lesson. He not only 
read but interpreted the poet. He understood and relished his polished 
diction. The English dress which the young student put upon the 
old Roman became him. His recreations then were the same which 
have occupied his leisure hours in later life. In his rambles among 
the neighboring woods, his rifle was his constant companion : 

' linoque solebat et hamo 



Decipere, ct calamo salient es ducere pisces.' 

" His kind Mentor once ventured to suggest his fears lest young 
Daniel's example, in devoting so much time to his favorite amusements, 
might prove injurious to the other boys. He did not complain that 
his task was neglected, or that any lesson was imperfectly prepared. 
This suggestion was sufficient. The sensitive boy could not bear the 
suspicion of any dereliction of duty. The next night Avas devoted to 
study. No sleep visited his eyes. His teacher appeared, in the morn- 
ing, to hear his recitation. He read his hundred lines, without mistake. 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 429 

He was nowhere found tripping in syntax or prosody. As his teacher 
was preparing to leave, young Daniel requested him to hear a few 
more lines. Another hundred was read. Breakfast was repeatedly 
announced. The good doctor was impatient to go, and asked his pupil 
how much further he could read. ' To the end of the twelfth book of 
the iEneid,' was the prompt reply. The doctor never had occasion to 
reprove him again. His study hours, ever after, were sacred. In 
less than a year, he read, with his teacher. Virgil and Cicero ; and, in 
private, two largo works of Grotius and Puffendorf, written in Latin. 
During the month of July, his father called him home to assist him 
on the farm. At this time of life, young Daniel had but a slender 
frame, and was not able to endure much fatigue. The trial of a single 
half-day brought the boy home with blistered hands and wearied limbs. 
The next morning, his father gave him his little bundle of books and 
clothes, and bade him seek his old. teacher again. Dr. Wood met him 
with a cordial greeting, on his return, and assured him that, with hard 
study, he might enter college at the next commencement. He then 
had tAVO months to devote to Greek ; and he had not yet learned the 
alphabet. With characteristic energy, he grappled with the task, and 
achieved a victory of which few can boast. What one of those college 
idlers, who talk so flippantly about the idleness of Daniel Webster when 
a student, has prepared himself for a like station in two short months ? 
The students of that day were deprived of many of the comforts and 
luxuries of life which are now so liberally enjoyed. They usually 
travelled on horseback. Their dress was entirely of domestic manu- 
facture. When Daniel Webster went to college, he took the least val- 
uable of his father's horses, which would not be missed from the farm, 
and, depositing his scanty wardrobe and library in a pair of saddle-bags, 
set out for Hanover. Scarcely had he lost sight of his father's house, 
when a furious north-east storm began to beat upon the solitary trav- 
eller. The rain poured down incessantly for two days and nights. 
A necessity was laid upon him to be present at the commencement of 
the term. He, therefore, made such speed as he could, with his slow- 
paced Rozinante, over bad roads, through the pelting storm, and reached 
the place at the close of the second day, if not a ' sorrowful knight,' 
at least, in a sorrowful condition. He joined his class the next day, 
and at once took the position in it which he has since held in the intel- 
lectual world. By the unanimous consent, both of teachers and class- 
mates, he stood at the head of his associates in study ; and was as far 



430 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

above them then, in all that constitutes human gi-eatness, as he is now. 
After a residence of two years at college, he spent a vacation at home. 
He had tasted the sweets of literature, and enjoyed the victories of 
iutcllectual effort. lie loved the scholar's life. He felt keenly for the 
condition of his brother Ezekiel, who was destined to remain on the farm, 
and labor to lift the mortgage from the old homestead, and furnish the 
means of his brother's support. Ezekiel was a farmer in spirit and in 
practice. He led his laborers in the field, as he afterwards led his class 
in Greek. Daniel knew and appreciated his superior intellectual 
endowments. He resolved that his brother should enjoy the same 
privileges with himself That night, the two brothers retired to bed, 
but not to sleep. They discoursed of their prospects. Daniel utterly 
refused to enjoy the fruit of his brother's labor any longer. They were 
united in sympathy and affection, and they must be united in their 
pursuits. But how could they leave their beloved parents, in age and 
solitude, with no protector 1 They talked and wept, and wept and 
talked, till dawn of day. They dared not broach the matter to their 
father. Finally, Daniel resolved to be the orator upon the occasion. 
Judge Webster was then somewhat burdened with debt. He was 
advanced in age, and had set his heart upon having Ezekiel as his 
helper. The very thought of separation from both his sons was painful 
to him. When the proposition was made, he felt as did the patriarch 
of old, when he exclaimed, ' Joseph is not * * * and will ye 
also take Benjamin away?' A family council was called. The 
mother's opinion was asked. She was a strong-minded, energetic 
woman. She was not blind to the superior endowments of her sons. 
With all a mother's partiality, however, she did not over-estimate their 
powers. She decided the matter at once. Her reply was : ' I have 
lived long in the world, and have been happy in my children. If 
Daniel and Ezekiel will promise to take care of me in my old age, I 
will consent to the sale of all our property at once, and they may 
enjoy the benefit of that which remains after our debts are paid.' 
This was a moment of intense interest to all the parties. Parents and 
children all mingled their tears together, and sobbed aloud, at the 
thought of separation. The father yielded to the entreaties of the sons 
and the advice of his wife. Daniel returned to college, and Ezekiel 
took his little bundle in his hand, and sought, on foot, the scene of his 
preparatory studies. In one year he joined his younger brother in 
college. His intellect was of the highest order. In clear and com- 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 481 

prehensive views of the subjects studied, he had no equal. He was 
deficient in no branch of study pursued in college. He was distin- , 
guished for classical literature. He also availed himself of private 
instruction in some departments of study. Professor Shurtleff then 
had a class of students reciting to him, privately, in theology. Ezekiel 
Webster joined that class, and wrote dissertations upon subjects pro- 
posed by the professor, who still speaks, with unabated admiration, of 
his character, as an earnest, truthful, and successful student. I once 
asked the same venerable teacher of the deportment of the younger 
brother in college. He replied : ' 0, sir, Daniel was as regular as the 
sun. He never made a misstep ; he never stooped to do a mean act ; 
he never countenanced, by his presence or by his conversation, any 
college irregularities.' After graduating, at the early age of nineteen, 
Daniel Webster took charge of the academy in Fryeburg, Me. He left 
his father's house again on horseback, with his whole worldly effects in a 
pair of saddle-bags. His salary was three hundred and fifty dollars a 
year. From such an income, how much, think you, would one of our 
modern dandies save, after supporting himself as a gentleman should 
live? Besides the severe labors of the school, Mr. Webster devoted 
his evenings to a still more irksome piece of drudgery. He recorded 
deeds in the county records for a moderate compensation. He trans- 
cribed, on an average, three deeds each evening ; and two large folios 
now exist, in his hand-writing, as indubitable proofs of his industry. 
He received high commendation for his fidelity as a teacher. The 
records of the trustees bear testimony to their unqualified approbation 
of his labors, and their sincere regret at his departure. At the close 
of the year, he visited his brother in college ; and, after paying his 
own debts, gave to Ezekiel the results of his year's labor, which 
amounted to one hundred dollars. The attachment of these brothers to 
each other was truly remarkable. They kept no separate purse, till 
they were estabhshed in business. They labored cheerfully for each 
other. Daniel submitted to the drudgery of copying deeds, and 
encroached upon the hours due to sleep to secure the means of his 
brother's education. Ezekiel taught an evening school for sailors, in 
Boston, in addition to the fatigues of a large private school by day, to 
save money to defray, in part, his brother's expenses in completing his 
professional education." 

We have seen a very impressive funeral oration on Ephraim Simonds, 
a member of the senior class of Dartmouth College, who died at Han- 



432 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

over, April, 18, 1801, delivered bj Mr. Webster, ^vho was also a 
^ member of the same class. Wo will quote a passage from the exor- 
dium : ' ' All of him that was mortal now lies in the charnels of yonder 
cemetery. By the grass that nods over the mounds of Sumner, Mer- 
rill and Cook, now rests a fourth son of Dartmouth, constituting another 
monument of man's mortality. The sun, as it sinks to the ocean, plays 
its departing beams on his tomb, but they reanimate him not. The 
cold sod presses on his bosom ; his hands hang down in weakness. The 
bird of the evening shouts a melancholy air on the poplar, but her 
voice is stillness to his ears. While his pencil was drawing scenes of 
future felicity, — while his soul fluttered on the gay breezes of hope, — 
an unseen hand drew the curtain, and shut him from our view." Our 
young orator, at this time, had been so inspired with the brilliant and 
fervid style of President Wheelock, that he gave stronger indications 
of rising to eminence in poetry, than in law or politics. The first pub- 
lished oration of Webster was delivered at Hanover, July 4, 1800. It 
may be found in the library of the Antiquarian Society. 

Mr. Webster completed his college course in August, 1801, and 
became a student of law in the ofiice of Thomas W. Thompson, the 
next-door neighbor of his father, Avho Avas afterwards a senator in Con- 
gress. He remained in his office as a student till, in the words of Mr. 
March, "he felt it necessary to go somewhere, and do something to 
earn a little money;" on which, as before related, he became preceptor 
of an academy, where, among other mental exercises, he committed to 
memory Fisher Ames' celebrated speech on the British treaty ; and he 
has been heard to say, relates Everett, that few things moved him more 
than the perusal of this celebrated speech. In September, 1802, Mr. 
Webster returned to Salisbury, and resumed his studies under Mr. 
Thompson, with whom he remained for eighteen months. 

Daniel Webster Avent to Boston in July, 1804, and became a stu- 
dent of Christopher Gore, where he engaged, with devoted interest, in 
the study of special pleading. In March, 1805, he was admitted to 
practice in the Suffolk Court of Common Pleas. At this period, he 
was offered the clerkship of the Court of Common Pleas, in Hills- 
borough county, N. H., which he at first was ready to accept ; but Mr. 
Gore opposed it, appealing to the aml)ition of his pupil, says March ; — 
once a clerk, he always would be a clerk, with no step upward. "Go 
on," said Mr. Gore, " and finish your studies. You are poor enough, 
but there are greater evils than poverty. Live on no man's favor. 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 433 

Wliat bread you do eat, let it be the bread of independence. Pursue 
your profession ; make yourself useful to your friends, and a little formi- 
dable to your enemies, and you have nothing to fear." His father was 
one of the judges of this court, and was very earnest that Daniel should 
accept the station. Having concurred in the advice of Christopher 
Gore, he said to his father, " I mean to use my tongue in the courts, 
— not my pen ; to be an actor, not a register of other men's actions ; " 
to which his venerable father replied : " Well, my son, your mother 
has always said that you would come to something, or nothing, — she 
was not sure which. I think you are now about settling that doubt 
for her." 

Immediately on his admission to the bar, Mr. Webster went to 
Amherst, N. H., Avhere his father's court was in session. From that 
place he went home with his father. He had intended to establish 
himself at Portsmouth, which, as the largest town, and the seat of the 
foreign commerce of the State, opened the widest field for practice. 
But filial duty kept him nearer home. His father was now infirm 
from the advance of years, and had no other son at home. Under these 
circumstances, Mr. Webster opened an office at Boscawen, not far from 
his father's residence, and commenced the practice of the law in this 
retired spot. Judge Webster lived but a year after his son's entrance 
upon practice, — long enough, however, says Everett, to hear his first 
argument in court, and to be gratified with the confident predictions of 
his future success. 

It is related, on the best authority, that at his fii'st term he had no 
case for trial, that rendered it necessary for him to address the court at 
Amherst ; but he had an important motion to make, not in the order 
of the docket, for which he had made elaborate preparation. Not 
being familiar Avith the course of business, and having seen no favora- 
ble opportunity to introduce and argue his motion, after waiting the 
whole term, till the court stood on its adjournment, he rose, and stated 
to the court, that he had hoped for an opportunity to bring his motion 
before the court, and had prepared himself to argue it, but that he now 
saw there was no time for the purpose. Nevertheless, he was unwilling 
to omit altogether acquainting the court with his case. With this intro- 
duction, he proceeded to make a short statement of the circumstances of 
his case, and the remedy for which he had proposed to call upon the 
court ; but, at that stage of the court, he Avould not undertake to argue 
it, though he had prepared himself for the purpose. When he had 
87 



434 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

resumed his seat, the chief-justice, Timothy Farrar, turning to his 
associates, remarked, in an undertone, which was, however, overheard, 
"That young man's statement is a most unanswerable argument," 
and immediately granted his motion. Mr. Webster has been frequently 
heard to remark that this incident has had a marked influence on his 
efforts in after life. It is related of his early appearance in pleading at 
court in his native State, that in the onset there would be an indication 
of restlessness ; and he would move his feet about, and run his hand 
up over his forehead through his Indian-black hair, and lift his upper 
lip, and show his teeth, which were as white as those of a hound ; and 
then he would roll on in such a stream of eloquence, that his power 
was irresistible. 

Mr. Webster was admitted as an attorney and counsellor of the 
Superior Court of New Hampshire, in May, 1807 ; and in September 
of that year, after having become a member of the Congregational 
church of Salisbury, his native town, on the loth day of that month, 
when the Rev. Thomas Worcester was pastor, he removed from Bos- 
cawen to Portsmouth, where he remained for nine successive years. It 
is mentioned by Mr. March, as a singular fact in his professional life, 
that, Avith the exception of the occasions on which he has been asso- 
ciated with the attorney-general of the United States for the time being, 
he has hardly appeared ten times as junior counsel. Mr. Webster was 
married in June, 1808, to Grace, a daughter of Rev. Mr. Fletcher, 
of Hopkinton, by whom he had five children, — Grace, Fletcher, Julia, 
Charles, and Edward, who died in the Mexican war. After the 
decease of his wife, he married a second time, — Caroline, daughter of 
Hermon Leroy, of New York city. 

Mr. Webster was elected to Congress, for the Federal party of that 
day, November, 1812 ; and continued four years in the house, and was 
appointed by Henry Clay, then Speaker, a member of the committee 
on foreign affairs. He was a member of the committee of the Rock- 
ingham Convention, wliich met at Brentwood, Aug. 5, 1812, and pre- 
pared a memorial to President Madison, remonstrating against the war 
with Great Britain. Mr. Webster was not a member of Congress when 
the war was declared, nor in any other public station. The principal 
subjects on which he addressed the house, during the 13th Congress, 
were his own resolutions, the increase of the navy, the repeal of the 
embargo, and an appeal from the decision of the chair, on a motion for 
the previous question. His speeches on these questions raised him to 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 435 

the front rank of debaters. He cultivated friendly relations on both 
sides of the house, and gained the personal respect even of those with 
whom he most diflfered. Mr. Webster, in 1814, opposed the project 
for a Bank of the United States, with a capital of fifty millions, as 
unsound in its principles, and sure to increase the derangement of the 
currency. In the intervals of Congress, Mr. Webster was occupied, 
at Portsmouth, in the practice of law. The destruction of his house, 
furniture, library, and many valuable manuscripts, in the extensive 
fire that occurred in December, 1813, had so embarrassed his circum- 
stances, that he found it his duty to endeavor to improve his condition. 
On the return of the peace, Mr. Webster was active in relation to 
the constitutionality of the tariff policy, and the resumption of specie 
payments. 

Mr. Webster removed to Boston in the year. 1818, when commenced 
a period of about six years' retirement from active political life, during 
which time, with a single exception, he filled no public ofiice, and 
devoted himself exclusively to his duties as a lawyer. It was accord- 
ingly within this period that his reputation in his profession was estab- 
lished. A large share of the best business of New England passed 
into his hands ; and the veterans of the Boston bar admitted him to an 
entire equahty of standing amongst them. Mr. Webster, on the sepa- 
ration of Maine, was elected to the Massachusetts convention on revis- 
ing the State constitution, in 1820, when he exhibited great intellectual 
abihty, and with the most eminent success. In 1822 he was elected 
by the people of Boston to the State Legislature, at which period he 
was also one of the framers of the city charter for Boston ; and in 
November of this year he was elected to the house of Congress, as suc- 
cessor of Benjamin Gorham. We find the following reminiscence of 
Mr. Webster, in relation to this period : "It has so happened," once 
said Mr. Webster, " that all the public services which I have rendered 
in the world, in my day and generation, have been connected with the 
general government. I think I ought to make an exception. I was 
ten days a member of the Massachusetts Legislature, and I turned my 
thoughts to the search of some good object, in which I could be useful 
in that position ; and, after much reflection, I introduced a bill, which, 
with the general consent of both houses of the Massachusetts Legis- 
lature, passed into a law, and is now a law of the State, which enacts 
that no man in the State shall catch trout in any other manner than 
with the ordinary hook and line. With that exception, I never was 



4db THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

connected, for an hour, with any State government, in my life. I 
never held office, high or low, under any State government. Per- 
haps that was my misfortune. At the age of thirty, I was in New 
Hampshire, practising law, and had some clients. John Taylor Gil- 
man, who for fourteen years was Governor of the State, thought that, 
young man as I Avas, I might be fit to be an attorney-general of the 
State of ^^New Hampshire, and he nominated me to the council ; and 
the council, taking it into their deep consideration, and not happening 
to be of the same politics of the governor and myself, voted, three out 
of five, that I was not competent, — and, very likely, they were right. 
So, you see, I never gained promotion in any State government." 

Mr. Webster was again elected to Congress for Sufiblk ; and so 
great a favorite had he become, that the choice was unanimous, with 
the exception of three votes. In 1826 he Avas reelected to the house ; 
but, before taking his seat, he was elected, by the Legislature, to the 
Senate in Congress, in place of Elijah H. Mills, — which station he 
filled until he was appointed Secretary of State, under President Har- 
rison, in 1841. He was succeeded by Abel P. Upshur in 1844, and 
was reelected to the U. S. Senate in 1845. which station he occupied 
until his appointment as Secretary of State, under President Fillmore, 
in 1850 ; and never, since the days of Jeiferson, the first incumbent, 
has a president of this Union been honored with a more profound and 
sagacious counsellor than Daniel Webster. 

In the spring of the year 1839, Mr. Webster crossed the Atlantic, 
making a tour through England, Scotland, and France. His atten- 
tion was drawn to the agriculture of England and Scotland ; to the 
great subjects of currency and exchange ; to the condition of the labor- 
ing classes ; and to the practical effect on the politics of Europe of the 
system of the continental alliance. No traveller from this country 
has, probably, ever been received with equal attention, says Everett, 
in the highest quarters in England. Courtesies usually extended only 
to ambassadors and foreign ministers were advanced to him. His 
table was covered with invitations to the seats of the nobility and 
gentry ; and his company was eagerly sought at the public entertain- 
ments which took place while he was in the country. Among the 
eminent men with whom he contracted intimacy, may be named the 
late Lord Ashburton. A mutual regard, of more than usual warmth, 
arose between them. This circumstance was well understood in the 
higher circles of English society ; and when, two years later, a change 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 437 

of administration in both countries brought the parties to which they 
were respectively attached into power, the friendly relations well 
known to exist between them were, no doubt, among the motives which 
led to the appointment of Lord Ashburton as special minister to the 
United States. When the Whig party came into power, in the year 
1841, Mr. Webster displayed extraordinary sagacity in the nego- 
tiation of the treaty with Great Britain, on the adjustment of the 
long-contested question of the north-eastern boundary, which height- 
ened his renown for diplomatic skill. 

When Mr. Webster was elected to Congress over Jesse Putnam, in 
1822, he exhibited the same energy of character in behalf of his coun- 
try that had previously made him the great leader among leaders. 
He labored for suffering Greece ; on the tariff law of 1824 ; effected a 
complete revision of the law for the punishment of crimes against the 
United States ; gave a speech on the Congress of Panama ; and argued 
on the revision of the tariff law, and the embarrassments of the contest. 
His manly course in the administrations of Jackson and Van Buren, 
in relation to the veto of the bank, the rise and progress of nullifica- 
tion, the force bill, the removal of the deposits, the expunging resolu- 
tion, and the sub-treasury system, are identified with his history. We 
do not forget his interest in other great national topics, such as the 
annexation of Texas, the war with Mexico, the Oregon question, 
revival of the sub-treasury system, and repeal of the tariff of 1842 ; 
on a territorial government for the Mexican provinces, on a constitu- 
tion of State government adopted by California prohibiting slavery, on 
the anti-slavery agitation relative to the Fugitive Slave Law and the 
Compromise, and his great speech for the Union. We would have our 
readers recur to Everett's political biography of Daniel Webster, for a 
development of his action on these great national topics. 

Where is a nobler passage than this of Webster: "I am," says 
Webster, "where I have ever been, and ever mean to be. Standing 
on the platform of the general constitution, — a platform broad enough, 
and firm enough, to uphold every interest of the whole country, — I 
shall still be found. Intrusted with some part in the administration 
of that constitution, I intend to act in its spirit, and in the spirit of 
those who framed it. I would act as if our fathers, who formed it for 
us, and who bequeathed it to us, were looking on me, — as if I could 
see their venerable forms bending doAvn to behold us, from the abodes 
above. I would act, too, as if the eye of posterity was gazing on me. 
37* 



495 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

" Standing thus, as in the full gaze of our ancestors and our pos- 
terity, — having received this inheritance from the former, to be trans- 
mitted to the latter, and feeling that if I am formed for any good, in 
my day and generation, it is for the good of the whole country, — 
no local policy or local feeling, no temporary impulse, shall induce me 
to yield my foothold on the constitution and the Union. 

"I came into public life in the service of the United States. On 
that broad altar my earliest and all my public vows have been made. 
I propose to serve no other master. So far as depends on any agency 
of mine, they shall continue united States, — united in interest and 
affection, — united in everything in regard to which the constitution 
has decreed their union, — united in war, for the common defence, the 
common renown, and the common glory, — and united, compacted, knit 
firmly together, in peace, for the common prosperity and happiness of 
ourselves and our children." 

Judge Story related, one time, of Chief Justice Marshall, that his 
great expression was, "It is admitted." As he was a powerful 
reasoner, it was often remarked, " Once admit his premises, and you 
are forced to his conclusions; therefore, deny everything he says." 
Said Daniel Webster to Story, "When Judge Marshall says, 'It is 
admitted, sir,' I am prepared for a bomb to burst over my head, and 
demohsh all my points." May not the same remark be made of 
Webster, the invincible defender, as of Marshall, the profound 
expounder, of the constitution 7 

The address of Mr. Webster, pronounced on Bunker Hill, June 17, 
1825, it is said was modelled, even to its . best passages, in Marshpee 
Brook, — the orator catching trout and elaborating sentences, at the 
same time. It is further related, that, as the orator drew in some 
trout particularly large, he was heard to exclaim, " Venerable men ! 
you have come down to us from a former generation. Heaven has 
bounteously lengthened out your lives, that you might behold this 
joyous day." Says Webster, in another passage of the same para- 
graph: "Yonder proud ships, by a felicity of position, appropriately 
lying at the foot of this mount, and seeming fondly to cling around it, 
are not means of annoyance to you, but your country's own means of 
distinction and defence." 

We find in Everett's biography of Webster some excellent remarks 
on the preparation of orators for public speaking, where, in allusion to 
Mr. Webster, he says : " It is not to be supposed that an orator hke 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 439 

Mr. Wel3ster is slavishly tied down, on any occasion, to his manuscript 
notes, or to a memoriter repetition of their contents. It may be 
presumed that, in many cases, the noblest and the boldest, the last 
and warmest tints thrown upon the canvas, in discourses of this kind, 
were the unpremeditated inspiration of the moment of delivery. The 
opposite view would be absurd ; because it would imply that the mind, 
under the high excitement of delivery, was less fertile and creative 
than in the repose of the closet. A speaker could not, if he attempted 
it, anticipate, in his study, the earnestness and fervor of spirit induced 
by actual contact with the audience ; he could not, by any possibility, 
forestall the sympathetic influence upon his imagination and intellect 
of the listening and applauding throng. However severe the method 
required by the nature of the occasion, or dictated by his own taste, 
a speaker like Mr. Webster will not confine himself ' to pouring out 
fervors a week old.' " In another passage of this memoir, Mr. Everett, 
in further enlarging on this subject, says that no one will think that 
the entire apostrophe to Warren, in his first Bunker Hill oration, as it 
stands in the reported speech, was elaborated and committed to memory. 
In fact, there is a slight grammatical inaccuracy, caused by passing 
from the third person to the second in the same sentence, which is at 
once the natural consequence and the proof of an unpremeditated 
expansion or elevation of the preconceived idea. We see the process. 
When the sentence commenced, " But, ah ! him ! " it was evidently in 
the mind of the orator to close it by saying, "How shall I speak of 
him?" But, in the progress of the sentence, forgetful — unconscious 
— of the grammatical form, but melting with the thought, — behold- 
ing, as he stood upon the spot where the hero fell, his beloved and 
beautiful image rising from the ground, — he can no longer speak of 
him. Willing subject of his own witchery, he clothes his conception 
with sensible forms, and speaks to the glorious being whom he has 
called back to life. He no longer attempts to discourse of Warren to 
the audience ; but, passing, after a few intervening clauses, from the 
third person to the second, he exclaims, ' ' How shall I struggle with 
the emotions that stifle the utterance of thy name ! Our poor work 
may perish, but thine shall endure ! This monument may moulder 
away, the sohd ground it rests upon may sink down to a level with the 
sea, — but thy memory shall not fail ! " 

We concur with Edward Everett in what he remarks of Webster's 
famous reply to Hayne, when he says : " Of the effectiveness of Mr. 



440 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Webster's manner in many parts, it Avould be in vain to attempt to 
give any one not present the faintest idea. It has been my fortune to 
hear some of the ablest speeches of the greatest hving orators on both 
sides of the water ; but I must confess I never heard anything which 
so completely realized my conception of what Demosthenes was when 
he delivered the oration for the crown." 

"Sprung from a revolutionary stock," said Caleb Gushing, in a 
review of Webster's speeches, " nurtured in ,the very domains of ' the 
mountain goddess, Liberty,' he rose to fame and usefulness in the 
bosom of his native State. So surely as the bright stars shall move 
on untiringly in their celestial paths on high to glad the eye and 
lead the footsteps of unborn generations of men, — so surely as genius, 
honor, patriotism, will continue to be prized on earth when the passions 
of the hour shall have fretted themselves into extinction and oblivion, 
— so sure is it that the time will come when New Hampshire will 
esteem it her pride and her glory to have given birth and maturity to 
Daniel Webster. And yet, such are the corruptions of party, and 
such the infamy to which it sometimes degrades the daily press, that, 
as Mr. Webster feelingly remarked in his speech at Concord, it has 
been his fortune, whether in public hfe or out of it, to be pursued by 
a degree of reproach and accusation in his native State such as 
never fell to the lot of any other of her public men. 

" Of the speeches delivered by Mr. Webster in the Senate, those 
devoted to the great constitutional questions display Mr. Webster 
without a competitor. By a succession of unrivalled speeches in expo- 
sition of disputed texts or constructions of the constitution, — by the 
profound knowledge of historical facts displayed in them, the acuteness, 
sagacity and comprehensiveness of view which they exhibit, and the 
patriotic zeal Ayhich animates them in every line. — he has earned for 
himself a most pecuhar and most exalted position in the public eye, as 
the great expounder and champion of the fundamental law of the Union. 
So long as the government of the United States shall endure, or the 
memory of its honor and its liberty survive the overthrow of its insti- 
tutions, — so long as our example shall occupy a page in the history 
of human freedom, — so long must the speeches of Mr. Webster be 
read, studied, admired. On these he may confidently rely for the 
respect and applause of liis country, Avhile living; on these, for a fame 
lasting as the undying spirit of constitutional liberty itself Neither 
in the Philippic orations of Demosthenes, nor in the consular ones f^f 



DANIEL AVEBSTER. 441 

Cicero, nor in whatever class among the speeches of Burke, or Pitt, 
or Canning, is there anything more thoroughly imbued and saturated 
■with the very essence of immortality than in these constitutional 
speeches of Daniel Webster. 

" It is one of the characteristic traits of Mr. Webster's speeches, — 
whether at the bar, in political assemblies, or in Congress, — that there 
is nothing in them discursive ; no digressions from the straightforward 
path of his argument, no mere episodes of embellishment, no common- 
place arts of oratory. They are models of severe unity of design, of 
consummate and beautiful simplicity of execution, hke some master- 
piece of statuary carved in the blended grace and majesty of antique 
art. He sends forth no scattered rays, to dazzle with their brilliancy, 
and bewilder while they dazzle, — but pours a steady stream of light, 
concentrated in a broad beam of effulgence upon the point he would 
illumine. His mind never stops on the course, like Atalanta, to gather 
the golden fruits which glitter in its path, and thus ultimately lose the 
prize of the race in pursuit of the delusive temptations of the moment. 
For this reason, it is impossible to do justice to any of his more elabo- 
rate efforts by bare extracts, when every sentence is an essential part 
of one grand whole, and nothing can be spared from the finished per- 
fection of the work, nothing added, without marring its excellent sym- 
metry. Yet, amid all the dignity, strength and singleness, Avhich 
distinguish his productions, there is an occasional vividness of imagery, 
so apposite, that it seems to be innate in the very substance of the 
matter, rather than a mere illustration, — like the native lustre of a 
gem, belonging to the primitive organization of its elements. It is not 
diflScult, therefore, to select passages which, fragments though they be, 
are beautiful and striking in themselves, and bear witness what that is 
of which they are but severed parts. You do not see the magnificent 
temple, in its admirable whole ; but even the solitary column, the 
broken frieze, torn from its pediment, bespeak the grandeur of the 
Parthenon. The following passage elucidates a great principle, by a 
happy recurrence to historical facts : 

" ' We are not to wait till great public mischiefs come,' says Web- 
ster, — 'till the government is overthrown, or liberty itself put in 
extreme jeopardy. We should not be worthy sons of our fathers, 
were we so to regard great questions affecting the general freedom. 
Those fathers accomplished the Revolution on a strict question of prin- 
ciple. The Parliament of Great Britain asserted a right to tax the 



■142 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATOKS. 

colonies, in all cases whatsoever ; and it was precisely on this question 
that they made the Revolution to turn. The amount of taxation was 
trifling ; but the claim was inconsistent with liberty, — and that was, 
in their eyes, enough. It was against the recital of an act of Parlia- 
ment, rather than against any suffering under its enactments, that 
they took up arms. They went to war against a preamble. They 
fought seven years against a declaration. They poured out their treas- 
ures and their blood, like water, in a contest in opposition to an asser- 
tion which those less sagacious, and not so well schooled in the princi- 
ples of civil liberty, would have regarded as barren phraseology, or 
mere parade of words. They saw, in the claim of the British Parlia- 
ment, a seminal principle of mischief — the germ of unjust power ; 
they detected it, dragged it forth from underneath its plausible dis- 
guises, struck at it, — nor did it elude either their steady eye or their 
well-directed blow, till they had extirpated and destroyed it, to the 
smallest fibre. On this question of principle, while actual suffering 
was yet afar off, they raised their flag against a power, to which, for 
purposes of foreign conquest and subjugation, Eome, in the height of 
her glory, is not to be compared, — a power which has dotted over the 
surface of the whole globe with her possessions and military posts, — 
whose morning drum-beat, following the sun, and keeping company 
with the hours, circles the earth daily with one continuous and 
unbroken strain of the martial airs of England.' " 

The manners of Daniel Webster in public speaking are remarkable. 
"It is in reply that he comes out in the majesty of intellectual 
grandeur," says Col. Knapp, " and lavishes about him the opulence 
of intellectual wealth ; it is Avhen the darts of the enemy have hit 
him, that he is all might and soul ; it is then that he showers down 
words of weight and fire. Hear him then, and you will say that his 
eloquence is founded on no model, ancient or modern, however strong 
may be the resemblance to any one of them ; that he never read the 
works of a master for imitation ; — all is his own, excellences and 
defects. He resembles no American orator we have ever heard. He 
does not imitate any one in the remotest degree : neither the Addiso- 
nian eloquence of Alexander Hamilton, which was the day-spring in a 
pure and vernal atmosphere, full of health and beauty ; nor does he 
strive for the sweetness of Fisher Ames, whose heart, on all great 
occasions, grew liquid, and he could pour it out hke water. Ames 
waved the wand of the enchantress, and a paradise arose, peopled with 



DANIEL WEBSTER. 443 

ethereal beings, all engaged in pursuing an immortal career." In Mr. 
Webster's eloquence, one is sensible that there is a vast and indefinite 
back-ground of character. The oratory is but as a little jet out of a 
great reservoir, from which it is not missed. He would at times over- 
whelm you, and draw himself back again before you recovered your 
self-possession. The orator is but a fraction of the man, — the man 
standing indefinitely great behind the mere orator. He is delightfully 
felicitous in illustration. How effective, for instance, the passage 
where, in remarking on the vast extent of this republic, the two great 
seas of the world washing the one and the other shore, in the concep- 
tion of which, says Webster, we may realize the beautiful description 
of the ornamental edging of the buckler of Achilles : 

' Now the broad shield complete the artist crowned, 
With his last hand, and j)ourcd the ocean round ; 
In living silver seemed the waves to roll. 
And beat the buckler's verge, and bound the whole.' 

"The person of Mr. Webster is singular and commanding," says 
Knapp. "His height, above the ordinary size, about five feet eleven 
inches. He is broad across the chest, and stoutly and firmly built ; 
but there is nothing of clumsiness either in his form or gait. His 
head is very large ; his forehead high, with good-shaped temples. He 
has a large, black, solemn-looking eye, that exhibits strength and 
steadfastness, which sometimes burns, but never sparkles. His lips, 
when his countenance is in repose, shut close — Lavater's mark of 
firmness ; but the changes of his lips make no small part of the strong 
and varied expressions of his face. His hair is of a raven-black, of great 
thickness, and is generally worn rather short ; his eyebrows are thick, 
more than commonly arched, and bushy, — which, on a slight contrac- 
tion, give his features the appearance of sternness. But the general 
expression of his face, after it is properly examined, is rather mild and 
amiable than otherwise. His movements in the senate-chamber and in 
the street are slow and dignified. His voice, once heard, is always 
remembered ; but there is no peculiar sweetness in it ; — its tones are 
rather harsh than musical ; — still, there is great variety in them. 
Some have a most starthng penetration ; others, of a softer character, 
catch the ear, and charm it down to the most perfect attention. His 
voice has nothing of that monotony which palls upon the ear ; it may 
be heard all day without fatiguing the audience. His emphasis is 



444 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

strong, and liis enunciation clear, and so distinct that not a syllable 
escapes any of his hearers. The compass of his voice is so great, that 
it fills any room, however large, "vvith perfect ease to himself; and 
Wilhs, our native poet, -syho saw him nearly twenty years after the 
graphic description of Knapp was written, says : " Sombre as the lines 
of his face are, unlighted with health or impulse, the eyes so cavern- 
ous and dark, the eyelids so livid, eyebrows so heavy and black, and 
the features so habitually grave, — it is a face of strong affections, 
genial, and foreign to all unkindness. There is not a trace in it where 
a pettishness or a peevishness could lodge, and no means in its sallow 
muscles for the expression of an intellectual littleness or perversion. It 
is all broad and majestic, all expansive and generous. The darkness in 
it is the shadow of a Salvator Kosa, — a heightening of grandeur, with- 
out injury to the clearness. His physical superiority and noble dispo- 
sition are in just balance with his mind. Webster, incapable of the 
forecast narrowness which makes the scope of character converge when 
meridian ambition and occupation fill it no longer, will walk the broad- 
ening path that has been divergent and liberalizing from his childhood 
to the present hour, till he steps from its expanding lines into his 
grave." At the festival of the Sons of New Hampshire, General Dear- 
born said of Daniel Webster, " that, on all occasions when he put forth 
the full energies of his mind, he appeared in the senate-chamber like 
the lion-hearted Richard in the tournament of Ashley de la Zouch, 
ready to meet all combatants ; and woe betide those who received the 
ponderous and crushing blows of his mighty intellectual mace! " Mr. 
Webster was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 
Massachusetts Historical, New England Genealogic, and American 
Antiquarian Societies. 

Mr. Webster was a remarkable exemplification of an opinion which 
he expressed to Rev. Samuel K. Lothrop, whose church, in Brattle- 
street, he attended, and also Trinity church, during over thirty years' ' 
residence in Boston, that, "what a man does for others, not what 
others do for him, gives immortality." Our unrivalled statesman died 
at his residence in Marshfield, October 24, 1852, The immediate 
cause of his decease was hemorrhage from the stomach and bowels, 
owing to a morbid state of the blood, consequent upon a disease of the 
liver. There was, also, dropsy on the abdomen. The cerebral organs 
were of the very largest known capacity, exceeding, by thirty per 



SAMUEL LORENZO KNAPP. 445 

centum, the average weight of the human brain, and, it is said, with 
only two exceptions, — those of Cuvier and Dupuytren, — the largest 
of which there is any record. On the day of the interment, the body 
was placed upon a bier on the lawn in front of his mansion, beneath 
the branches of a large poplar tree. The cover of the coffin was re- 
moved, and the body appeared attired in Mr. Webster's favorite suit, — 
a blue coat, bright buttons, white vest, white pantaloons, white silk 
gloves, patent leather gaiter boots, and a white neckerchief, with wide 
collar turned over. The coffin, or metallic burial-case, was similar in 
its outlines to the human form when placed in a horizontal or recum- 
bent position, and consisted of an upper and lower shell. The case 
was enamelled inside and out, and was thoroughly air-tight. Upon 
the body was- a wreath of beautiful flowers, wrought by a girl ten 
years of age, and another of oak leaves and acorns ; a pyramid bouquet 
of everlasting flowers, and another of flowers, plucked and wrought 
by Ellen Fletcher, a niece of Mr. Webster, consisting of the common 
and New Holland myrtle, in which were inwrought snow-white roses, 
and the clematis specanium, placed on the breast of the corpse. The 
tomb of Daniel Webster is in the old Winslow burying-ground at 
Marshfield ; and, " from the deck of every ship, bound into or out of 
the city with which he was so long connected," said the Rev. Ebenezer 
Alden, at his funeral, " and with whose prosperity, up to his death, he 
was identified, his tomb shall be visible while time shall last." Since 
the decease of Daniel Webster there have been published more ser- 
mons, eulogies, and orations on his character, than have ever appeared 
in relation to any eminent public man, excepting, only, the immortal 
Washington. 



' SAMUEL LORENZO KNAPP. 

AUGUST 5, 1826. EULOGY ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 

Was born at Newburyport, in 1784 ; and was educated at PhiUips' 
Academy, in Exeter, where he shone as one of the most brilhant 
scholars, especially in declamation. He graduated at Dartmouth Col- 
38 



446 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

lege in 1804, wlien lie entered on the study of law, under Chief Justice 
Parsons, at Newburyport, and married Mary Ann, daughter of Gen. 
Amasa Davis. He was an eminent counsellor, and was an active mem- 
ber of the State Legislature. During the late war with Great Britain, 
he commanded a regiment of State militia, in defence of the coast. In 
1824 he became editor of the Boston Gazette ; and conducted, also, the 
Boston Monthly Magazine, one of the most refined periodicals of polite 
hterature, abounding in his own tasteful contributions. In 1826 Col. 
Knapp established the National Repubhcan, which existed only two 
years, when he resumed the profession of law, at New York. An 
anecdote is related of Mr. Knapp, that a certain pubhsher of a peri- 
odical clipped oflf the end of a contribution from his pen, because it was 
taking up too much space, — who, when remonstrated with for putting 
''a full stop" to his article where there should have been only a 
comma, after several abortive attempts at pacification, said, " ! let it 
go in, Knapp ; let it go in ! It is well enough as it is ; just look at it ; 
see, now ; — beside, you know, nobody will read it. So, what 's the 
odds, Knapp?" The whole article was indignantly withdrawn. He 
was not always verbally accurate ; but his diction was easy and grace- 
ful, and he gathered metaphors for illustration with as much ease and 
taste as a florist selects the beauties of the garden and the meadow. 
He was honored with the personal friendship and intimacy of Arch- 
bishop Cheverus ; at whose suggestion he received the degree of doctor 
of laws from the college at Paris, in France. His biographical memoir 
of the venerable prelate was one of the most elegant performances of 
that sort. He was one of the best writers of eulogiums and sketches 
of character in the Union, His work on eminent lawyers, statesmen, 
and men of letters, now out of print, is a model for writers of biography. 
He was a very popular public speaker, being very fluent, easy, winning, 
and graceful. He was rich in anecdote, grave, hvely and humorous. 
He had a decided disrehsh for the technicahties of law ; and the best 
of his days were devoted to literature. Long after the writings of the 
puny revilers of American genius shall have supplied the grocer with 
wrappings, and the book-worm with food, the Lectures on American 
Literature, by S. L. Knapp, will have a place in the library of the 
scholar, and minister to the instruction of young persons. In defend- 
ing the hterary reputation of others, he has given a work on which his 
own fame may securely rest. He was author of The Bachelors, and 
Other Tales, founded on American Incident and Character ; Advice 



WILLIAM POWELL MASON. 447 

in the Pursuits of Literature ; Lives of Aaron Burr, Andrew Jackson, 
Daniel Webster, and Thomas Eddy; and several political orations. 
He was the editor of Hinton's United States, and the Library of Use- 
ful Knowledge. He was author, also, of Travels of Ali Bey in Boston 
and its vicinity ; The Genius of Free Masonry, or a Defence of the 
Order ; Female Biography of Different Ages and Nations ; Public 
Character, comprising Sketches drawn from the Living and the Dead. 
He died at Hopkinton, Mass., July 8, 1838, aged fifty-four. 



WILLIAM POWELL MASON. 

JULY 4, 1S27. FOR TUE CITY AUTHOEITIES. 

"There are periods of the world," says Mr. Mason, "and portions 
of the earth, in which whole generations of men may go down silently 
and unnoticed to their graves, and at least enjoy the privilege of being 
forgotten ; when, if they may not dare to expect the praises of pos- 
terity, they may yet hope to escape its reproaches. But such is not 
the period in which we live, nor such the country we inhabit. 

"I will not endeavor to stimulate you to the performance of your 
duties, by promising you an immortality of fame in after ages.- No ; 
this is your birth-right ; you cannot lose it. Neglect these duties, 
ruin your country, and disappoint the world ; — yet, fear not, your 
names shall be immortal, — as immortal as your ancestors'. On the 
same page of history on which their names and deeds are recorded, 
and in as imperishable characters, shall yours, also, be inscribed. 
And when the future heroes of far-distant centuries shall turn back to 
that page for stimulants to their exertions, future statesmen and 
patriots look there for lessons of wisdom and virtue, and the future 
poet draw thence a noble theme for his aspiring muse, your name 
shall not be passed by unnoticed by them ; the same voices that swell 
with praises and benedictions to the memories of your ancestors shall 
load yours with execrations and contempt. Let us, my countrymen, 
escape so disgraceful an immortality. Let us avert so disastrous a 
termination of our hitherto brilliant career. Let us turn from the 



448 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

contemplation of the deeds and virtues of our ancestors, from felicita- 
tions on our own happy circumstances, and from musings on the many 
bright and glowing objects which spread themselves out in the splendid 
prospect before us, and endeavor to expose, whilst we may yet avoid 
them, some of the rocks and precipices which lay in our path, and 
which are not the less dangerous because they are decked -svith flowers. 
The moralist truly tells us, that the most perfect things of this world 
yet carry with them the taint of imperfection. The all-glorious Avorks 
of nature require the constantly sustaining and corrective hand of 
their great Creator. And in man, and in all the labor of his hands 
and all the emanations of his mind, are contained the seeds of decay 
and dissolution. We may not hope to obtain for ourselves, or our 
country, an exemption from this universal law ; but we may hope to 
effect what is within the power of man to do, what it was meant he 
should do. We may hope, by constant watchfulness and exertions, to 
repress the growth of every noxious principle in our nature, and to 
stimulate and quicken into perfect operation all the great and noble 
ones." 

William Powell was a son of Hon. Jonathan Mason, and born in 
Boston ; and was prepared for college under Rev. Dr. Prentiss, of 
Medfield. He graduated at Harvard College in 1811, at Avhich time 
he engaged in a conference respecting the character of New England, 
as resulting from the civil, literary and religious institutions of our 
forefathers. He read law under Hon. Charles Jackson ; commenced 
the practice of law as partner with Hon. William Sullivan ; is a coun- 
sellor-at-law ; and married Hannah, a daughter of Daniel Dennison 
Rogers. At the festival in Faneuil Hall, on the day of the delivery 
of the oration at the head of this article, Hon. James Savage pubhcly 
gave the sentiment, that the orator is the Mason who builds by prin- 
ciple an edifice that shall last till doomsday. Mr. Mason was a 
Boston representative, and editor of Reports of Cases in the U. S. 
Circuit Court, from 1816 to 1830, comprising the Decisions of Judge 
Story, in 5 vols. 8vo. They will honorably class, for learning and 
daily practice, with the ablest reports of Great Britain. Mr. Mason 
was seven years treasurer and secretary of the Social Law Library. 



BRADFOKD SUMNER. — NATHANIEL GREENE. 449 

BRADFORD SUMNER. 

JULY i, 1828. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

Was born in Taunton, Mass. ; educated at the academy under Mr. 
Doggett, and graduated at Brown University, in 1808 ; was a tutor 
in that college for nearly two years ; and read law with Hon. Theron 
Metcalf during a portion of his novitiate ; settled in Boston ; and mar- 
ried Ameha Bertody. Is a counsellor-at-law ; and was a Boston 
representative in 1826. He delivered an address for the Massachu- 
setts Peace Society, in 1831, which was published. Mr. Sumner is 
eminent for chamber counsel, of truly estimable character, and has 
frequently been a candidate for Congress, and for the mayoralty of 
Boston; but, not being of the popular party, was always defeated. 
He is a decided friend of popular education, and has been twice elected 
to the school committee. 

In his oration on national independence, Mr. Sumner advances an 
opinion that should ever impress the public mind : "I would not pre- 
dict the dismemberment of our Union at any future period. I would 
gladly indulge the belief that such an event could never, in the nature 
of things, come to pass. But nothing is more certain, and nothing 
more obvious to the common observer, than that all the virtue, and all 
the wisdom, and all the patriotism, that we can ever hope to exercise 
as a nation, Avill be necessary to that equal adjustment of general laws 
to the various rights and interests of the people which alone can pre- 
serve our Union." 



NATHANIEL GREENE. 

JAN. 8, 1828. ON THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 

Was born at Boscawen, N. H., May 20, 1797, and was son of 
Nathaniel Greene, a reputable counsellor in that town at the period 
when Daniel Webster opened an office there. Owing to the pecuniary 
reverses and subsequent death of his father, in 1807, Nathaniel found 
himself without a home, dependent solely on his widowed mother, and 
his own exertions, for support. Having made good progress at the 
38* 



450 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

village school of his native town during the short period of his element- 
ary course, he was enabled to procure a situation in a variety store ; 
but the business of measuring tape and weighing tea was uncongenial 
to his mind. He had read the Memoirs of Franklin, and it became the 
great object of his ambition to be an editor. He was entirely absorbed 
in this desire ; and the mode of effecting it was the great theme of his 
thoughts by day and dreams by night. At length, a prospect opened 
to his delighted vision. The famous Isaac Hill, who afterwards rose to 
the hio-hest eminence in political life, established a Democratic paper, 
in May, 1809, at Concord, entitled the New Hampshire Patriot. 
This paper was taken where young Greene was a clerk, and he pored 
over it with great enthusiasm; and, on the fourth of July, 1809, he 
proposed his service to Mr. Hill, who received him as an apprentice to 
the printing business. He continued nearly two years in this office ; 
Avhen. finding the prospect of promotion too remote from the editorial 
station, he engaged in a neighboring office, where, at the premature 
age of fifteen, he became editor of the Concord Gazette, until January, 
1814, when he removed to Portsmouth, where, until the next year, he 
assumed the charge of the New Hampshire Gazette, published by 
Messrs. Beck & Foster. In April, 1815, he removed to Haverhill, 
Llass., where he was in the employ of Burrell & Tileston, for a period 
of two years, having the entire charge of the Haverhill Gazette, pub- 
lished by them, which he ably conducted. In May, 1817, Mr. Greene 
made his first appearance as an editor and publisher in his own name, 
and on his own account, in a new Democratic paper, the Essex Patriot, 
which he conducted until invited to Boston, for the purpose of estab- 
lishing another Democratic journal in that city. He complied with 
this invitation, and established the Boston Statesman, which was 
issued Feb. 6, 1821, semi-weekly, then tri-weekly, and, finally, daily. 
It soon became the leading Democratic journal of the State, and bore 
the same relation to this party as had the old Independent Chronicle 
to the Repubhcan party, and exercised a controlhng influence on the 
pohtics of the nation. It has ever been strong for the union of the 
States. 

Here we cannot resist the desire to remark, that, however much the 
two great national parties of Whig and Democratic may be at variance 
on the modes of public policy, no candid mind can doubt that patriotic 
love of country is the moving motive of all the conscientious leaders of 
conflicting national pohcy. Is it not a question whether the democracy 



NATHANIEL GREENE. 451 

of Thomas Jefferson was far more profound and conservative tlian the 
democracy of Andrew Jackson, and whether the Whig party of the 
present day is not more democratic than was the Federal party under 
John Adams ? Indeed, it is our decided opinion, that the unrestrained 
freedom of party pohtical discussion in our land has strengthened the 
bonds of the national union ; and we heartily respond to the opinion of 
the immortal Jefferson, that " so we have gone on, and so we shall go 
on, puzzled and prospering beyond example in history ; and shall con- 
tinue to grow, to multiply, and to prosper, until we exhibit an associa- 
tion powerful, wise, and happy beyond what has yet been seen by men." 
The Statesman was not a source of pecuniary profit. Mr. Greene, 
having always been a decided advocate for regular nominations, and 
a firm supporter of the accustomed usages of the Democratic party, 
warmly sustained the nomination of William H. Crawford, in 1823, 
for the presidency. In this year, Mr. Greene was lieutenant of a 
militia company, and member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery 
company ; but military habits were not congenial to his taste, and he 
soon laid aside the musket. At this period, a majority of the people 
of New England were advocates of John Quincy Adams ; and the 
Boston Statesman felt the bhghting influence of its unpopular cause, 
in the diminution of its patrons, and the loss of business. The termi- 
nation of that contest having evinced that Andrew Jackson, although 
at the time without a party in New England, had received a larger 
number of Democratic votes than any other candidate, Mr. Greene 
directly assumed that fact as the most effective nomination that could 
be given, and pointed him out as the most suitable representative of all 
those who had opposed Adams, and who, remarks the Democratic 
Review, " were resolved to mark their indignant dissatisfaction at the 
manner in which Mr. Adams had been elected by the House of Repre- 
sentatives, by a determined opposition to his administration." However 
much the ire of the Democracy may have been excited at this decision of 
the house, we merely inquire whether they would not have pursued the 
same course in like circumstances. From that moment, the Statesman 
gave to the cause of Andi-ew Jackson, says the Democratic Review, 
"a firm, consistent, able and efficient support, through the whole 
struggle which resulted in his election in the year 1828 ; " at which 
period Mr. Greene was involved in great pecuniary loss, and in debt to 
a large amount. 

Mr. Greene married Susan, a daughter of Rev. William Batchelder.. 



452 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of Haverhill; and their son, William B., eclucated at West Point, for- 
merly a lieutenant in the U. S. army, settled in the ministry at Brook- 
field. Mass., and married a daughter of Hon. Robert Q. Shaw, of 
Boston. 

While editor of the Statesman, Mr. Greene, by an intense applica- 
tion to books, acquired a fine taste for polite literature, and made 
himself familiar with several languages. In 1833 he published an 
address delivered before the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Asso- 
ciation. In 1836 he pubhshed a compendious History of Italy, trans- 
lated from the Italian. He was translator, also, of Tales from the 
German, 2 vols., published in 1837; and in 1843 he published Tales 
and Sketches from the German, Italian, and French. He has been a 
contributor to several annuals, and has a fine poetic fancy. 

Nathaniel Greene, in the year 1829, was appointed the post-master 
of Boston, which station he occupied until the accession of Gen. Harri- 
son to the presidency, when he was succeeded by George William 
Gordon ; — and, although this was one of the first public removals of 
the new administration, yet one of the last measures of President 
Tyler was to reinstate ]Mr. Greene in the same office, which he occu- 
pied until after the election of Zachary Taylor, who appointed William 
Hayden, a former editor of the Boston Atlas, as his successor ; but, 
upon the rejection of the latter by the Senate, Mr. Gordon was again 
appointed, in 1850. Mr. Greene had the reputation of conducting 
this department to the entire approval of the national executive, and, 
by his urbane and conciliatory deportment, to the satisfaction of the 
public in Boston ; and his consistent and untiring devotion to the 
Democracy will ever endear his name to the party. It was declared 
of him, in a toast at the public festival after the delivery of the oration 
at the head of this article, that he "has portrayed the principles of 
Jackson Democracy with an eloquence and spirit corresponding with 
the talents and fortitude exhibited by the editor of the Boston States- 
man." Since his retirement from public life, Mr. Greene has taken 
the tour of Europe. 

In the course of remarks on the battle of New Orleans, Mr. Greene 
eloquently urges, in the oration, that the brightest flower in Jackson's 
wreath of victory was, that "he knew not only to conquer, but to 
spare. In the trying moment of victory, when the mind is peculiarly 
liable to excess, he evinced a tenderness for human life which does 
honor to his heart, and adds lustre to his triumph. The crisis is past, 



JOSEPH HARDY PRINCE. 458 

and the country is saved ; he will not pursue a flying enemy, to swell 
the tide of victory by the unnecessary effusion of human blood, — 
humanity is not compelled to weep over the laurels of victory. His 
country had intrusted to his hands the lives of her bravest defenders, 
and he was not unmindful of the sacred trust. He watched over them 
with paternal care ; and it was his greatest pride to restore them 
unharmed to the country they had honored, to the sacred homes they 
had so gallantly protected. This it is which so richly entitles General 
Jackson to the praise bestowed upon his victorious companions-in- 
arms, ' The gratitude of a country of freemen is yours, yours the 
applause of an admiring world.' How changed is the scene, this day, 
at New Orleans ! There is no longer the stern look, the anxious 
brow, the tear in woman's eye. All, all are joyful, and festivity and 
triumph rule the hour. The people crowd around, and hail their 
deliverer. The men who stood by his side when the battle raged 
hasten to press the hand that waved encouragement to their hearts in 
that awful moment. IMothers, in the fulness of their gratitude, come 
forward to present their children for the blessing of the hero who saved 
the sons of Louisiana from slavery, and her daughters from violation. 
They will say to him, ' We remember that, on the night when the 
enemy landed, and you led your forces forth to meet him, you told us 
"The enemy shall never reach the city; " and well was your pledge 
redeemed. We offer to you the warm tribute of our gratitude, and 
will teach our children and our children's children to cherish the 
memory of their benefactor.' " 



JOSEPH HARDY PRINCE. 

JULY 4, 1823. FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

Was born at Salem, and son of Capt. Henry Prince. He read law 
with Hon. John Pickering, after having graduated at Harvard College 
in 1819, and practised law in Boston. Was a representative for 
Salem in 1825. Was appointed an inspector of customs in 1834. 
He was private secretary for Com, Elliot, of the frigate Constitution, 
in 1835, on the voyage to France, for the return of Hon. Edward 
Livingston, the American minister, owing to differences with that 



454 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

nation. He pursued the practice of law, and in 1848 was appointed 
to the surveyor's department of customs, at Boston. Mr. Prince has 
ever been tenaciously devoted to the Democratic party, and was an 
early advocate for Andrew Jackson. After the delivery of the oration 
at the head of this article, when Andrew Dunlap moved that a copy 
be requested for the press, Mr. Prince said, " If I have done anything 
towards re-kindling the fire of the old Democracy, if I have contrib- 
uted a pebble to the pile in the cause of principle against corruption, I 
shall be satisfied." The reply to objections to the qualifications of the 
old Roman for the presidency is thus impassionedly poured out in 
caustic severity : 

" Stand forth, ye spawners of fustian romance and lascivious lyric! 
ye ribald rhymesters of Dusky Sally ! ye professors of rhetoric ! ye mod- 
ern Priscians ! tear from the brow of the war-worn veteran and patriot 
their hard-earned laurels ! Vindicate your claims to political promotion 
and civil honors ! I would be the last to decry the cultivation of a 
correct and elegant literature. It is our Corinthian column, that gives 
grace and dignity to our institutions, and adorns and elevates national 
character. We have yet to see our Augustan age, — the age when 
Roman literature flourished, and Roman freedom drooped. It is true 
that men distinguished as orators, poets and philosophers, have risen 
among us ; but we have not yet produced that constellation of literary 
genius which is to guide and direct posterity. Our business has been 
to cement and strengthen the fiibric, not to adorn it. There is a char- 
latanism of htei-ature which enervates the intellect, and renders men 
unfit for the arena of the world, — incapable of leading in government. 
I would apply to the amalgamation of the two characters of your mere 
man of literature and statesman the just and happy remark of a very 
great man — Mr. Brougham — on the expediency of making clergy- 
men magistrates. It is, that the combination produces Avhat the 
alchemists call a tertian quid, with very little, indeed, of the good 
qualities of either ingredient, and no little of the bad ones of both, 
together with new evils, superinduced by the commixture. The 
remark is equally just and applicable on either side of the water, — on 
the banks of the Thames, or on those of the Charles, — in the Middle- 
sex of England, or the Middlesex of Massachusetts. Who were the 
ethereal spirits that achieved your Revolution '? Who were your John 
Hancocks and your Patrick Henrys ? Who were most of the immortal 
signers of the Declaration of Independence ? They formed their esti- 



JAMES DAVIS KNOWLES. 455 

mates of human character, not from books alone, but from a close 
observation of men in all ages, in all times. When Themistocles was 
asked to play on the lute, he replied, ' I cannot fiddle, but I know 
how to make a small city a great one.' He could not sing lascivious 
lyrics, but he had a practical knowledge of mankind. It is true that 
the Republican candidate is not familiar with the lucubrations of a 
parson. He was not nurtured in the groves of the academy. He has 
never sported with Amaryllis in the shade, or with the tangles of a 
Nereis' hair ; but he has the great talent of leading men, whether in 
the council or the field. He had not a wealthy aristocracy to stand 
bis sponsors at the baptismal font, nor the nurses of an imperial court 
to amuse him with the innocent ribbons of royalty. No ; the son of 
the west practised on the useful precepts of the Spartan chief, that 
the child should be instructed in the arts which will be useful to the 
man. At an early period of life he gave presages of his future emi- 
nence. Emerging from obscurity, fatherless, motherless, friendless, 
without a drop of his blood in the veins of any living creature, he has 
exhibited the spectacle of a man buffeting the waves of fortune, strug- 
gling with and surmounting the trying vicissitudes of place and con- 
dition. Like the mighty rivers of our country, whose sources are 
in the dark and hidden retreats of the mountains, whose grandeur owes 
nothing to art, dashing before their impetuous tide rocks, hills and 
forests, he stands the object of our gaze and admiration." 



JAMES DAVIS KNOWLES. 

JULY 4, 1828. FOR THE BAPTIST CHURCHES, BOSTON. 

Was born in Providence, R. I., July, 1798, and the second son of 
Edward Knowles, a worthy mechanic ; married Susan E., daughter 
of Joshua Langley, of that city, in 1826. His father died when he 
was twelve years of age, and he was shortly apprenticed to a printer, 
where, by great diligence, he was enabled to become a contributor of 
prose and verse to newspapers, often attributed to writers of maturity. 
In July, 1819, Mr. Knowles was an associate editor of the R. I. 
American. He often struck the lyre ; and among the most felicitous 
efibrts of his muse may be classed his stanzas attempting to supply the 



456 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

deficiency of Gray's Elegy in religious sentiment, which, in point of 
beauty and tenderness, may well compare with the sweet flowers of the 
English poet. While employed as editor, so carefully did he improve 
every leisure moment, that he would have his Greek grammar upon 
the table at the time of his meals. To see this young man as intently 
occupied in mental nourishment as he could be in his repast for phys- 
ical nutriment, was often a subject of remark by his companions, and 
he soon became as familiar with that language as he was with Latin 
and French ; indeed, his progress in study was so eflBcient, that he 
was admitted to college in advance of the customary period. He 
earned the expenses of his education at Columbian College, mainly as 
editor of the Columbian Star, established at Washington, in 1822. He 
had entered the Baptist Theological Seminary, at Philadelphia, in 
1821, conducted by William Staughton, D. D., and Rev. Irah Chase. 
On taking his degree, December, 1824, he was elected a tutor of the 
college, which station he occupied until his ordination as pastor of the 
Second Baptist Church in Boston, Dec. 28, 1825. 

Wliile a student at college, he delivered an oration, July 4, 1823, 
at the request of the Eusonian and the Ciceronian societies, which is 
a pure specimen of polite composition, breathing the fervor of chaste 
and patriotic sentiment. We glean from it this choice passage : 

" Montgomery has beautifully described Columbus, while meditating 
on his great expedition, as gazing with eager anticipation towards the 
new world which he hoped to discover. 

* " Light of heaven ! " he cried ; 
" Lead on ; I go to vrin a glorious bride, 
By nature nursed beyond the jealous sea, — 
Descried to ages, but betrothed to me." ' 

This bride our Pilgrim Fathers found on these unvisited shores. On 
her shady bowers no rude spoiler had intruded. None of the corrup- 
tions of the Old World had found their way into her bosom. She was 
worthy to be the bride of our forefathers, and to become the mother 
of a race of freemen." 

Of Mr. Knowles' published sermons, we have no knowledge of 
more than two, one of which was before the Boston Baptist As- 
sociation, September 16, 1829. In the same year, he published 
Memoirs of Ann Hasseltine Judson, missionary to Burmah, — a pro- 
duction which will render his name imperishable. In 1832 he was 



JAMES DAVIS KNOWLES. 457 

elected Professor of Pastoral Duties and Sacred Rhetoric, in the New- 
ton Theological Seminary, and his inaugural address on the Importance 
of Theological Institutions was printed. In 1829 he published also a 
Fast sermon, entitled '* Spirituous Liquors Pernicious and Useless." 
Mr. Knowles, as a sermonizer, was so smooth and insinuating, that he 
captivated many, despite his distant and unsocial habits ; but he was 
warm in his afifections toward a few intimate friends. He was of such 
keen sensibihtj, that an unkind glance Avould offend him ; and a base 
slander on his faultless habits probably induced him to leave the pas- 
toral office. Is it not questionable whether the spirit of disciphne, in 
many Baptist churches, is worthy the mantle of Roger Williams 7 

He occupied the professorship, with close devotion and ability, until 
his decease, which occurred May 9, 1838, on his return from the Mis- 
sionary Baptist Convention, at New York. His death was caused by 
a violent attack of the confluent small-pox ; and, to avoid the contagion 
of his remains, they were laid in the grave at midnight. A devoted 
friend of Professor Knowles, residing at Newton, wrote the following 
effusion from the heart, on the impulse of the calamity : 

" They bore him at midnight alone midst the gloom 

In which night's sable pall had bound him ; 
No solemn obsequies were sung at his tomb, — 

No kindred nor Mends stood around him. 
No eulogy we would pronounce on his name, 

Nor praises of flattery give ; 
No tombstone we 'd raise to emblazon his fame, — 

Without them his virtues will live. 
His memory, enshrined in the hearts of his friends, 

Shall live when the marble hath perished ; 
The influence he shed, as the dews which descend, 

Shall water the plants which he nourished." 

The oration pronounced by Mr. Knowles, at the religious celebration 
of independence, in the year 1828, on the perils and safeguards of 
American liberty, clearly evinces that his tact as editor in the political 
field was equal to his ability in the more elevated sphere of divinity. 
The passage on the danger from ambitious and unprincipled political 
aspirants is worthy of any statesman. 

One of the strongest indications of the vigorous advance of biblical 
and classical literature in our republic is the establishment of quarterly 
periodicals in the principal religious sects, comprising contributions of 
the highest order of intellect. The Congregationahsts have their 
Bibliotheca Sacra and the New Englander ; the Unitarians have their 



458 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Examiner, which, for refinement, rivals the North American; the 
Episcopalians have their Church Review ; the Methodists have their 
Quarterly Review ; the Lutherans have their Mercersburg Review ; 
the Presbyterians have their Princeton Review ; the Roman Catholics 
have their Brownson's Review ; there is the Universalist Quarterly ; 
and the Baptists have their Christian Review, radiating the light of 
Newton Theological Seminary. Professor Knowles was the first 
editor, on its estabhshment, in 1836, and exhibited in its management 
great learning and energy. The pastors of every church should advise 
their people to receive in their families the favorite quarterly of tneir 
denomination, as a powerful aid to religious and patriotic progress; 
and more especially should it be in the hands of every student in 
divinity. 

As the annalist of the life and times of Roger WilHams, were James 
Davis Knowles a novitiate of Camden, or Leland, he could not have 
gathered around him a greater mass of antiquarian lore. He is the 
first extended biographer of this father of the doctrine that the civil 
power has no control over the religious opinions of men ; and has elab- 
orated a memoir that Robert Southey, of England, gave up in despair, 
for want of materials ; and our own Jeremy Belknap, and more recently, 
Francis Greenwood, also abandoned, chiefly for similar reasons. The 
public good requires a new edition of this work, with additions ; and 
no author can write a memoir of Roger Williams, without recourse to 
this production. Mr. Knowles remarks that the principles of Roger 
Williams are destined to spread over the earth. The State which he 
founded is his monument. Her sons, when asked for a record of Roger 
Williams, may point to her history, unstained by a single act of perse- 
cution, — to her prosperity, her perfect freedom, her tranquil happi- 
ness ; and may reply, in the spirit of the epitaph on the tomb of Sir 
Christopher Wren, in St. Paul's Cathedral, "Look around." 

It is pleasant to glance at this work. Roger Williams was banished 
by the General Court, Nov. 3, 1635 ; and often remarked of Gov. 
Winthrop, that, though he were carried Avith the stream for banishment, 
he tenderly loved him to his last breath. He first pitched and began 
to plant at Seekonk ; and, in referring to his situation at this time, he 
wrote, alluding to the Indians : 

" God's providence is rich to his, — 
Let none distrustful be ; 
In wilderness, in great distress. 
These ravene have fed me." 



JAMES DAVIS KNOAVLES. 459 

It was probably in the summer of 1636 that Roger Williams 
removed to the spot near the mouth of Washassuck river, beside a 
spring; to -which, in grateful remembrance of "God's merciful provi- 
dence to him in his distress," he gave the name of Providence. In 1643 
Williams proceeded to England, and obtained, by the aid of Sir Henry 
Vane, a charter for the colony of Rhode Island. It was at this period 
that he wrote his celebrated work, entitled "The Bloody Tenet of 
Persecution for Cause of Conscience," etc., in which he maintained the 
absolute right of every man to a full liberty in religious concernments. 
Mr. Knowles says that Williams is entitled to the honor of being the first 
writer, in modern times, who decidedly supported this opinion. Bishop 
Heber concedes this point to Jeremy Taylor, in the Liberty of Proph- 
esying ; but all the toleration urged by Taylor was for those Christians 
only who unite in the confession of the apostles' creed. There is a 
passage, however, in More's Utopia, written one hundred years before 
Williams' day, which is said to anticipate everything included in the 
principles of civil and religious liberty at the present day. But then 
Sir James Mackintosh questioned Avhether extravagances were not 
introduced, in other parts of Utopia, to screen the bold idea, and call the 
whole a rare sport of wit. Even Locke, in his Essay on Toleration, 
goes only for a limited liberty ; and we must yield the palm to Roger 
Williams, as the first decided advocate. 

The origin of this work is too singular to be lost. A person who 
was confined in Newgate, on account of his religious opinions, wrote a 
paper against persecution. Not having the use of pen and ink, he 
wrote the arguments in milk, on sheets of paper brought to him by the 
woman, his keeper, from a friend in London, as the stopples of his 
milk-bottle. In such paper, written with milk, nothing will appear ; 
but the way of reading it by fire being known to his friend who received 
the papers, he transcribed and kept them. This essay was sent to Mr. 
Cotton, of Boston. He wrote a reply, of which Roger Williams' book 
is an examination. The title — "The Bloody Tenet" — is a fanciful 
reference to the circumstance that the original paper of the prisoner 
was written with milk. " These arguments against such persecution, 
and the answer pleading for it, written, as love hopes, from godly inten- 
tions, hearts and hands, yet in a marvellous different style and man- 
ner : — the arguments against persecution, in milk ; the answer for it, as 
I may say, in blood.'''' Mr. Cotton wrote a reply, to which he gave 
the quaint and punning title, "The Bloody Tenet Washed and made 



460 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

White in the Blood of the Lamb." Williams rejoined in the same 
strain : '• The Bloody Tenet yet IMore Bloody, by Mr. Cotton's Endeavor 
to Wash it White." 

Roger Williams enjoyed the personal friendship of John Milton and 
Oliver Cromwell, which no doubt had a tendency to rouse his ardor for 
universal toleration. lie had a passion for poetry; and the specimens 
which his Key to the Indian Languages exhibits, though superior to 
much of the contemporary rhyme in Morton's Memorial and Mather's 
Magnalia, are inferior, in real poetic feeling and expression, to much of 
his prose writings. 

" I have heard ingenuous Indians saye. 

In debts they could not sleepe ; 
How far worse are such English, then, 

Who love in debt to keepe ? 
If debts of pounds cause restless nights, 

In trade with man and man. 
How hard 's the heart that millions owes 

To God, and yet sleepe.can ? 
Debts paid, sleep 's sweete ; 
Sins paid, death 's sweete ; 
Death's night then 's turned to light ; 

Who dies in sinne unpaid, that soul 
Has lights eternal night." 



JOHN WARREN JAMES. 

MARCH 4, 1829. INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT JACICSON. 

In the spirited oration of Mr. James, Ave have an illustration of the 
fact that "the great body of the people of New England have exhib- 
ited a lofty and generous democratic spirit in every period of their 
political history, whether colonial or republican ; and the endeavor 
to perpetuate the existence of aristocracy among our people was as 
clear under the royal race of the English Stuarts, as during the Con- 
federation or the Revolution. At the time when King James the 
First, of England, was reproving his Parliament for presuming to 
meddle in matters of state above their capacity, forbidding his subjects 
in general even to discourse of such affairs, and the homihes of the 
church were inculcating passive obedience to the divine right of kings, 



JOHN WAEREN JAMES. 461 

the democracy of Boston, in the course of the three first years of their 
new settlement, bid his majesty open and repeated defiance. They set 
aside his royal charter, established a House of Representatives, took 
into their own hands the choice of governor, deputy-governor and 
assistants, and fined the executive council for disobeying their com- 
mands. 

"A policy of a very different complexion was shortly after pursued 
by a sinister junto at the same settlement. This party gave its sanc- 
tion to a compact with certain persons of quality in the mother coun- 
try, among whom were the Lords Say and Brooke, to induce their 
emigration to Boston on certain conditions, among which were these : 
That the new commonwealth, to be instituted for the accommodation 
of their lordships, should consist of two distinct ranks, — the first to be 
hereditary gentlemen, and the second common freeholders ; and that 
the governor should always be chosen from the rank of hereditary 
gentlemen. 

"These propositions were accordingly assented to by one of the 
Boston clergymen of that day, who, in behalf ' of such leading men as 
he thought meet to consult withal,' admitted that the two ranks of gen- 
tlemen, and of the common people, mentioned by their lordships, were 
sanctioned both by Scripture and the light of nature ; and the rev- 
erend politician adds this declaration : Democracy I do not conceive 
that ever God did ordain as a fit government, either for church or com- 
monwealth ; for, if the people are governors, who shall be governed '? 

" It does not appear that the people of Boston assented to this inter- 
pretation of the laws of nature and revelation ; for they established a 
government on the principles of a pure democracy, which was continued 
for two centuries, and then abandoned from necessity. 

" To say nothing of the Tories of the Revolution, to whom these 
doctrines were regularly transmitted, and passing over the well-known 
sentiments in favor of a distinction of ranks avowed by the Presiden- 
tial successor of Washington, as well as his recognition of an existing 
absolute oligarchy, we find opinions expressed in the convention that 
formed the federal constitution quite repugnant to the general sentiment 
of the people. 

" Some of the most able of that illustrious body announced as 
settled maxims that, as all communities divide themselves into the few 
and the many, and as there has always been an aristocracy in every 
government, ancient or modern, the people would never be safe, unless 



462 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

this aristocracy Avere gratified with honors and emoluments ; and that 
■we must proceed to the confines of a monarchical, if we would have a 
solid republican government. Others thought that monarchy would be 
the best government, if we could have a House of Peers ; but we were 
too poor for that, as there were not in the whole confederacy one hun- 
dred gentlemen of sufficient fortune to establish a nobility ; and it was 
insisted that the executive and senatorial branches of government ought 
to be a wealthy aristocracy, and chosen for life. In fact, a strong party 
in that convention, representing a stronger out of it, indicated in their 
opinions but little sympathy with the temper of the people, manifestly 
undervalued their capacity, and displayed a rooted prejudice in favor 
of the European theories of government, founded on the assumption 
of that incapacity. 

'•But they were afterwards taught their best lessons in the school 
of the people ; and, with whatever contempt a portion of these accom- 
plished statesmen might have regarded the favorite maxim of Locke, 
that ' the science of politics is nothing more than common sense applied 
to public afiairs,' still there were some among them who profited by the 
instruction, and became ornaments to the republican party of a subse- 
quent period. They lived long enough to discover that too much reli- 
ance might be placed on the patriotism of the government, and too 
little on the wisdom of the governed. 

"The members of this convention ^vere all republicans, so fiir as 
they yielded their reluctant assent to the forms of the republican frame 
of government which they had recommended to their countrymen. 
Yet it was obvious that an anti-republican spirit might be infused into 
its administration ; and one of its most distinguished framers, at the 
time of its ratification, declared that its character would depend upon 
its construction. 

'•Experience soon justified the prophetic declaration. The spirit 
of the people, as expressed in that instrument, was exorcised by the 
genius of philology, and their will interpreted until it passed their 
comprehension. A technical system of construction was established, 
which, hke the royal prerogative claimed by the Tudors and Stuarts of 
England, contains an inexhaustible fund of latent powers ; so that its 
authors, as this power is to be usurped by rulers, or liberty dispensed 
to the people, have found means to take by the spirit what they are 
denied by the letter, and withhold by the letter what is given by the 
spirit. 



JOHN WARREN JAMES. 463 

"It is by no means necessary to infer, from these remarks, that the 
same projects which gilded the visions of the advocates of hereditary 
gentlemen among the Puritans, or of the hereditary and legislative 
aristocracy among the members of the federal convention, are still 
entertained by the existing opponents of democratic principles. We 
need not do such injustice to their probity or their understandings. 
This wary and temporizing class of society take special care to change 
their means, and modify their ends, according to the exigencies of their 
situation ; but the spirit that inspires them is always and everywhere 
the same. Towering in their ' pride of place,' it is the instinct of 
these well-trained falcons of the State to wanton at large in airy 
circles, before they stoop to their quarry." 

We here quote a passage of great power, equally adapted to the two 
great political parties of the Union, which should be emblazoned in 
every town-house and ward-room, or at every depository of the ballot- 
box : "If you leave the tents of your fathers, where will you go? 
Would you seek shelter for your republican principles — would you 
teach your children to seek shelter for theirs — with those temporary 
combinations of men, for temporary purposes, which, like the mountain 
torrent, rise and rage, and die away with the tempest that gives them 
birth ? Or will you join such associations as are made up of unpopu- 
lar minorities, who have lost, because they did not deserve, the public 
esteem ; and of seceders from your own party, whose principles were 
too lax for confidence, or whose aims were too high for gratification 7 
Are these the new principles you would purchase at the expense of 
old? For such novelties, are you prepared to make concessions of 
principle, to conciliate mutual interests, and, to carry a single point on 
which you agree, hazard a multitude on which you differ ? 

"Is it for this you are ready to go where the best creed of the day 
will be that which will carry the vote of the day ; where the shortest 
road to power will be made the right road ; where the friendship of 
the people must be abandoned for the patronage of the great, and you 
must become the pliant followers of men, instead of the proud votaries 
of principle ; where those the most unlike the lion will take the lion's 
share ; where you will be insensibly led on to support indiscriminately 
any administration that will indiscriminately support you ; — a course 
that banishes integrity and confidence out of public proceedings, and 
confounds the best men with the worst, and is a general previous sanc- 
tion to misgovernment ; where public spirit is swallowed up in cabal, 



464 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

and party sinks into faction ; and where, after having been tost about 
among the shifting eddies of interest, and made dizzy with a wild rota- 
tion of opinions, you are prepared to become a mere free-thinker in pol- 
itics, ready to propagate any doctrine that stands highest in the price- 
current of the day ? In short, fellow-citizens, as you cherish a manly 
pride in the stability of a consistent scheme of politics, continue to 
resist the predatory incursions of disappointed seceders, hair-brained 
visionaries, and time-serving adventurers from broken-down minorities, 
who would come among you to delude the weak, and to defame the 
strong ; and may, in the end, as heretofore, drive you from the vantage- 
ground of victory, and confound you with successive hordes of such 
disorganizing and restless spirits as the great Scottish novelist describes 
in one of his graphic fictions, — men who ' will run with the hare and 
hunt with the hound, and be Whig or Tory, saint or sinner, as the Avind 
stands.' " 

John Warren James was born in Boston, in the year 1802, and was 
the youngest son of Serg. Benjamin James, who was engaged in the 
Battle of Bunker Hill when only sixteen years of age. Among the 
throng of spectators on Copps Hill, was a young female, gazing with 
intense interest to learn the result. This young person was Eunice 
Jennison, who afterwards was married to the young sergeant, his 
father. He received his elementary education at IMaster Tileston's 
school, and pursued the higher branches at the Providence Academy ; 
after which, he engaged in the study of law under the guidance of Wil- 
liam Thurston, a respectable counsellor at Boston. He was one of the 
originators of the Boston Debating Society, and his name is the first 
entered on the roll of members. He was one of the readiest dis- 
putants of the club ; and it was by the animated discussions among 
them, on the expediency of a city charter imposing new municipal 
restraints, that the change from town government was hastened. Mr. 
James was admitted a counsellor-at-law at the Sufiblk bar, in 1823, 
and his success as advocate for a free bridge to South Boston prompted 
his nomination to the State Senate in 1827 ; but his election was 
defeated. He was for ten years a member of the city Council, and 
prepared the report on the condition of the House of Reformation 
for Juvenile Offenders, established in 1826, — a document of great 
value, for an elaborate exhibition of the proper management of such 
an institution. Mr. James, from a long experience in municipal affairs, 
became remarkably famihar with municipal duties ; and, though often 



JOHN WARREN JAMES. 465 

in the minority, his persuasive arguments, advanced with peculiar 
fluency, often restrained the majority from the exercise of too great a 
sweep of power, and he has done as much to reform city abuses as any 
member of the municipahty. In 1827 Mr. James was elected presi- 
dent of the Boston Association of the Friends of Ireland for Catholic 
Emancipation, — and their great object was granted by the British 
government in the year succeeding. 

Mr. James was an active leader of the Democracy ; and the address to 
the people on behalf of the Democratic legislative convention in Boston, 
extending over ten closely-printed columns of the Statesman of July 
12, 1828, Avas the production of his hand. It is a remarkable docu- 
ment, advocating the election of Andrew Jackson to the presidency ; 
and was said to have been the means of the appointment of Andrew 
Dunlap to the office of U. S. District Attorney, it being supposed that 
he was the author. In this elaborate round of argument from the 
warm advocate of Andrew Jackson, when alluding to the admiration of 
the intellectual acquisitions of John Quincy Adams, upon which his 
adherents expatiated, Mr. James says, " One is sometimes led to sus- 
pect, while listening to their flagrant panegyrics, that, instead of describ- 
ing that devoted public spirit, that unclouded understanding, and that 
knowledge of mankind, peculiarly becoming the chief magistrate of a 
practical and unostentatious people, these executive admirers were 
indulging their genius in encomiastic disquisitions on a modern Pliny, 
or another Sir William Jones ; " and, in enlarging on the qualifications 
of Andrew Jackson, Mr. James remarks, that "his varied and success- 
ful avocations in the camp, the senate, and the forum, have contributed 
to enlarge his views, and endow him with a fund of general knowledge 
of the most useful and practical character. As a writer, he thinks 
clearly, and expresses his thoughts with an air of thorough conviction, 
in a style of manly simplicity and freedom." Moreover, Mr. James 
says that "Jackson has not studied men through the spectacles of 
books ; and would reply to his detractors in the language of Hobbes, a 
truly learned English philosopher, ' If I had read as much as some 
others, I should have been as ignorant as they are.' The dramatic 
terror inspired by the election of military chiefs to the presidency must 
rapidly pass away, after escaping, unscathed, from the administrations 
of such generals as Washington, Jackson, Harrison and Taylor. Wis- 
dom and capacity are the standards in the selection of a national ruler, 
rather than one's vocation. 



466 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

At the festival in Washington Garden, after the delivery of the 
oration named at the head of this article, Col. C. G. Greene gave the 
complimentary sentiment to the orator of the day, that "his genius 
and eloquence ^vill be associated with the recollections of one of the 
most glorious triumphs of Democracy — the inauguration of Andrew 
Jackson ;" and Gov. Marcus Morton has been heard to remark of Mr. 
James, that he was the purest belles lettres scholar in the ranks of the 
Boston Democracy. 

Mr. James was a tenacious opponent of the United States Bank, 
and prepared twenty-eight resolutions, adopted at a meeting in Faneuil 
Hall, March 31, 1834, William Foster moderator, declaring that a 
renewal of its charter would be injurious, "as it drains the country of 
its gold and silver, and imposes inconvertible and illegal drafts as sub- 
stitutes, and charges the government giving credit to such paper with 
deranging the currency; it establishes a standing premium for the 
encouragement of forgery, by issuing myriads of such drafts, bearing 
an unknown number of signatures ; and votes away its funds for the 
detection of counterfeiters, whose paper is as legal as the drafts they 
imitate, — both issues being unknown to the law, and neither party pun- 
ishable for the offence, — causing, also, revulsions in business, by abun- 
dant emissions to-day and despotic contractions to-morrow." These 
resolutions were sent to Congress, together with a memorial signed by 
George Alexander Otis, and nearly three thousand residents of Boston. 

Mr. James was, at four several elections, a candidate for the Boston 
mayoralty, — first in 1834 ; but the Democracy found no favor. He 
married Julia B., the only child of Kalph Huntington, Esq., April 
14, 1836 ; and was a member of the State Board of Education from 
1840 to 1849. during which period the active mind of Mr. James con- 
ceived the jjhilanthropic object of an institution for the education of 
persons in mature life, Avho, from poverty and other causes, had never 
pursued a course of common school education, and who could neither 
read nor write in any language, — and more especially for the instruc- 
tion of young persons of both sexes not admissible to pubhc schools. 
He was devotedly seconded, in this enterprise, by the late Dr. John D. 
Fisher, Dr. Walter Channing, and George B. Emerson, all of whom 
were eminent in labors of philanthropy. In the winter of 1845, they 
originated the Boston Institution for the Education of Adults, which 
continued in active operation for more than three years. Our city 
government granted the use of the public ward-rooms during evening 



JOHN WARREN JAMES. 467 

hours, but all other expenses were defrayed by the society and its 
patrons. In the onset, it was dehghtful to observe the desire of people 
of various nations to receive instruction. Here you would notice the 
Irish, French, German and Italian, acquiring knowledge with the 
facihty of youth, diverted from the haunts of city vice. Arrangements 
were made for a course of free lectures to the pupils, on Food and 
Clothing, Air and Ventilation, Morals and Political Economy, Human 
Physiology, Natural Philosophy, and Municipal Law. The pro- 
gramme of this institution, under fourteen specifications, adopted Jan. 
31, 1845, is a model for every city and town in the Union. Unsuc- 
cessful endeavors have been devised to effect the adoption of evening 
adult schools, under the patronage of our city authorities ; — but, to 
the honor of New York and Philadelphia be it recorded, this noble 
project has been established by their city authorities, and thousands, 
of many nations, are reaping its benefits ; and they and their posterity 
will have occasion to bless the generous Bostonians who originated, 
here, this new lever of moral power. The period is not remote when 
our municipality will adopt, also, this useful enterprise, as it will 
diminish the incitements to crime amongst us, — especially as a statute 
has been recently enacted by the State Legislature, authorizing every 
town in the State to tax the inhabitants for the support of such 
schools. 

Prompted by this generous spirit of philanthropy, the natural germ- 
ination of a pure scion of Bunker Hill stock, Mr. James was one of 
the originators and first president of the Boston Association of the 
Friends of Ireland, established November, 1840, — an institution of 
American citizens and denizens, and natives of Ireland not naturalized, 
without distinction of sect or party (the president himself being a mem- 
ber of the Protestant Episcopal Church), for purposes connected with 
the suffering condition of the oppressed sons of Ireland. On the 22d 
of February, 1841, Mr. James reported an address, of seven columns 
in extent, unanimously adopted by the Boston Repeal Association, to 
be presented to the National Repeal Association of Ireland, wherein he 
stated that for some time the people of Ireland have desired a parlia- 
mentary separation from Great Britain, as the only means of indi- 
vidual comfort or national prosperity. "Anxious to be united by 
political ties, they wish to be legislatively separated, — subject to one 
imperial crown, and that the English, yet each country to have its 
own domestic parliament, for the benefit of laws especially adapted to 



468 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

the peculiar condition of each. In one word, Ireland demands the 
restoration of her ancient constitution, as irrevocably guaranteed to her 
by the English Parliament of 1782, but sacrilegiously violated by the 
fraudulent union of 1800, — of which alone they demand the repeal, 
as the basis of a new union, to which both the kingdoms may be con- 
senting parties." 

This document was read to the National Repeal Association of Ire- 
land, at their meeting in Dublin, April 16, 1841 ; and, at the same 
time, a donation of one hundred pounds was announced from the asso- 
ciation of Boston, which was received with enthusiastic applause. We 
find it remarked in Mooney's History of Ireland, that " the address 
drawn up by John Warren James, Esq., will be preserved in the 
archives of Ireland while there is one memorial of her history 
existing. An unexpected vista opened, through which we could dis- 
tinctly see our road to freedom;" — and Daniel O'Connell said, at 
this meeting: "It will be heard of along the ridges of the Himma- 
laya Mountains ; it will be read by the Royal Irish at Chusan, or at 
China ; it will be known at the Cape of Good Hope ; it will cross over 
to South America ; and it will resound again through the regions of 
North America. Wherever the English language is known, it, also, 
will be known, — except in England, where, to the disgrace of that 
people be it spoken, their ignorance and horrible prejudices are too 
strong to permit of its being allowed to appear. But they will be held 
up to scorn and contempt wherever it is seen. The world will wonder 
how it is that a people so brave, so temperate, so generous, and so 
moral, as the Irish, have suffered so much persecution ; and that, too, 
from a nation who have never at any time inflicted anything but mis- 
eries upon us. Yes ; I will stand on that document as on a pyramid, 
and, looking round to all the nations of the earth, I will demand of 
them to tell me a single good act which England ever did for Ireland. 
I tell English statesmen that one thing demonstrated by that length}' 
document is this, — that it is not the expression, alone, of the feelings 
and thoughts of one individual, but that it expresses the feelings and 
thoughts of the country. For no one man could obtain all the details 
requisite to enable him to produce that document ; they must be the 
familiar thoughts of the people, and the familiar subject of conversation 
with each other. It proves that the entire American mind must be 
impregnated with the same feeling and sentiments ; and it proves, also, 
that not only are those their feelings, but they are ready to act upon 



JOHN WARREN JAMES. 469 

tliem. It came from Boston, the birtli-place of American freedom, 
tlie grave of English tyranny; the spot where English force and 
violence shot down the unresisting Americans, and the spot to which 
the defeated English troops returned in disgrace and discomfiture, 
having begun the fight by assassination, and ended it by a flight." 

We will quote an efiective appeal to Queen Victoria, from the elab- 
orate and argumentative "Address" of Mr. James, so splendidly pan- 
egyrized by O'Connell: "Protection and allegiance are reciprocal. 
This is the conditional tie between the governors and the governed. 
What has England done to discharge her part of this condition to the 
allegiance of Ireland ? History answers the question, and humanity 
blushes at the response. And has Ireland, on her part, been a disloyal 
kingdom 1 The Tory champion of English loyalty answers, ' That 
noble race was made for loyalty and religion.' True ; always true, 
and emphatically so now. The Irish are as loyal as generous hearts 
and warm imaginations can make them. They love their present royal 
mistress, as they ought to love an amiable, upright, and liberal-minded 
sovereign. Feeling that they are blessed with a good queen, they look 
for a completion of the blessing in a good constitution. Victoria owes 
them no less than this, as a debt of restitution on behalf of her ances- 
tors. Irishmen demand no less than this, in the name of their progen- 
itors, for the sake of the present generation, and in mercy to their pos- 
terity. And, while their hearts swell, and their imaginations kindle, 
with the cherished anticipation of this great act of retributive justice, 
it is but natural that they should behold in their youthful sovereign 
what the greatest of orators described in a sister potentate, as she 
appeared to him, ' cheering and decorating the elevated sphere she just 
began to move in, ghttering like the morning star, full of life and 
splendor and joy.' ! may no sinister fortune darken this splendid 
vision, as its precursor was darkened ; or harden the royal heart to the 
imperial luxury of living and reigning in the hearts of an enfranchised 
people, — a people whom Titus might have sighed to govern; whom 
Henry of Navarre would have struggled through a life of warfare to 
have supphed with a chicken in the pot ; whom Alfred would have given 
his crown to have liberated ; and to whom Washington would have been 
the father he -^as to Americans, and have gone down to the dust of the 
Emerald Isle with the prophetic consciousness that the redeemed of 
no age or nation would so consecrate his memory, or defend liis acqui- 
sitions, as the coming generations of free and happy Irishmen." 
40 



470 THE HUNDKED BOSTON ORATOKS, 

JAMES TRECOTHIC AUSTIN. 

JULY 4, 1829. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES, 

" Massachusetts is the mother of the Revolution," says Mr. Aus- 
tin. " Her efforts in its commencement are too honorable to be omitted 
in the heraldry of her fame. Earliest and alone, — without aid, without 
allies, connections or confederacy, — singly, by her own will, she dissolved 
the royal powers within her 0"\vn territory and over her own people, 
and assumed to herself the prerogative of independence. When her 
congress of delegates assembled at Watertown, in defiance of the royal 
charter, and spurned the representatives of the crown, and assumed 
the powers of civil government, and took possession of the public treas- 
ury, and levied taxes, and established a navy, and commissioned that 
American vessel of war that first captured a British ship on the 
ocean, and erected maritime courts, and appointed judges, and admin- 
istered justice to belligerent and neutral by the law of nations, and 
raised an army, and nominated ofiicers, and gathered soldiers under the 
pine-tree banner of Massachusetts, and poured out a rich libation of 
blood on the battle-field of freedom, the colonial character was at an 
end. The Revolution had begun. The State was then free, sovereign, 
and independent. 

" Bring to the imagination that band of determined men, assembled 
at Watertown, unarmed and defenceless, within cannon-shot of a disci- 
plined army ; their fortunes in the camp of a military commander, whose 
dignity they had offended ; their persons liable to be seized and sent to 
Europe, as traitors ; their conduct impeached in a public proclamation, 
and two of them proscribed as rebels, whose offences were too heinous 
for the pardon of the king. Judge of their anxiety, in that time that 
tried men's souls; their immense responsibility to the country, whose 
destiny they directed ; to their children, for the protection that was 
due to them ; to posterity, for that political condition which would be a 
legacy of honor or of shame ; to their God, before whom they were 
answerable, and felt themselves answerable, for all the blood of a war 
they might accelerate or prevent. How indistinct their vision of the 
future, even when a strong faith threw its light upon their souls ! How 
difficult their task to keep up the courage of the timid, the hopes of 
the desponding, the strength of the feeble ; to enlighten the ignorant, 



JAMES TRECOTHIC AUSTIN. 471 

restrain the rash, supply the destitute, and impart to all the pure 
motives which consecrate success. Here was no mad ambition, no lust 
of power, no allurement of interest, no scheme of personal distinction. 
Few of them are remembered in history. Yet these are they whose 
light gave promise of a coming dawn. If they recede from the gen- 
eral gaze, it is in the noon-tide splendor of a brighter day. 

' They set as sets the morning star, which goes 
Not down behind the darkened west, nor hides 
Obscured among the tempests of the sky, 
But melts away into the light of heaven.' 

" Had these men proved incompetent to the task, the battle for that 
generation would have been lost when it began. Independence might, 
indeed, have been obtained, for no foreign power could long hold a con- 
tinent in its grasp ; but the struggle must have been made in this age, 
and not that ; and the desolation of civil war, which marks the times 
of our forefathers, would have been the melancholy history of our 
own." 

James Trecothic, the son of Jonathan Loring Austin, was born in 
Boston, January, 1784, and early entered the Latin School, where he 
received a Franklin medal. We find, in the Independent Chronicle, 
the youthful oration of Master Austin, gracefully spoken, July 6, 
1798, at this school, then under the direction of Mr. Samuel Hunt, it 
being the town visitation of the public schools. This performance of a 
youth only fourteen years of age, written by himself and revised by 
his father, is a striking instance of precocity : 

" The anticipation of this anniversary ever excites in our youthful 
bosoms the most pleasing reflections. On this day, honored with the 
presence of our political fathers and generous patrons, our little hearts 
palpitate with various emotions. Emulous, on the one hand, to exhibit 
to your approbation the various improvements we have made in our 
several classes ; and, on the other, to cultivate with greater ardor those 
seeds of literature planted by your munificent hand in this primary 
garden of science. 

"From the first settlement of this country, the education of youth 
claimed the particular attention of our venerable ancestors ; but since 
the American Revolution, it has merited a preeminent distinction, and 
a more equal and diffusive distribution of learning, — especially, in this 
metropolis, has been considered by you as highly important to the secu- 
rity, happiness and freedom, of the community. 



472 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

"As ignorance is the fatal weapon wliich tyrants wield with so much 
success, to enslave and debase mankind, so learning, like the flaming 
sword in the garden of Eden, protects the fair tree of Liberty, and 
repels every invader who dares to violate even the most tender branch. 
Education inspires the mind with those exalted sentiments which add 
lustre to virtue, veneration to the Christian, and dignity to the charac- 
ter of the patriot. 

"While, therefore, with so bountiful a hand, you are desirous to 
make the respective stages of education pleasing and agreeable, — while 
your liberal efforts are intended to embellish the youthful mind, and 
supply it with rational and useful entertainment, — it behoves us not to 
be unmindful of the blessings we enjoy. Here, we may lay a founda- 
tion on which the faculties of the human mind may rise to their highest 
elevation. Cultivated in so luxuriant a garden, we may here become 
invigorated with those vital principles which, under proper direction, 
will enable us to fulfil the benevolent designs of public schools, gratify 
the ardent wishes of our indulgent parents, encourage the efforts of 
our kind preceptors, and enable us, through life, to serve our God and 
country with reputation. 

"Much, respected sir, is due to your unabated efforts in effecting 
the laudable designs of our indulgent patrons. On you devolves the 
task, the important task, ' to rear the tender thought, — to teach the 
young idea how to shoot.' To your patience, to your assiduity and 
zeal, we are greatly indebted for smoothing the paths of science, by 
accurately impressing on our minds the highly necessary rules and 
principles of grammar, whereby we are enabled to discern the beauties 
of Cicero, of Virgil, of Horace, and of Homer. Long, sir, may you 
continue the ornament of your profession, and your pupils ever revere 
those virtues so highly recommended by your precepts, so eminently 
displayed by your example. 

"In addition to the advantages of literature, may we never be 
unmindful of the blessings of liberty. We dwell with admiration on 
the record of that persevering fortitude, and those heroic actions, which, 
under the blessing of Heaven, completed the freedom and independence 
of our country. Our youthful bosoms glow with ardor at the recital 
of those noble sentiments, inspired by Heaven, calculated to ameliorate 
the condition of all mankind. The impressions they leave on our infant 
minds we trust will grow with our growth, and ripen with our years. 
A frequent recurrence to those sublime principles which led to our 



JAMES TRECOTHIC AUSTIN. 473 

emancipation, will ever inspire us to cherish with care, to cultivate 
with fervent zeal, and to transmit the rich inheritance, unimpaired, to 
future generations. 'Twas here the celestial spark was blown into a 
flame, and, hke the lightning's flash, rushed through the land, made 
jarring interests cease, and, by the Almighty's fiat, formed the won- 
drous union. Quick was the great event, on flattering wings, wafted 
to distant shores, where nations, who for ages groaned beneath despotic 
sway, leaped in their chains, poured forth their warmest blessings on 
this land, and, while regretting theirs, extolled our fortune. Soon, 
soon may bounteous Heaven dispel those mists of error which hold 
mankind debased, enslaved, and teach them to revere those rights 
designed by God to sweeten and exalt existence here below. Colum- 
bia's favored sons, who know and highly prize the heavenly gift, will 
guard it safe from every foreign foe ; and, animated with their father's 
fire, will even dare, in its defence, to die. But it is our fervent wish, 
aside of conquests or of arms, to spread both far and near its genial 
influence to the world at large." 

Mr. Austin graduated at Harvard College in 1802, on which occa- 
sion he gave the salutatory oration. He studied law with Hon. Wil- 
liam Sullivan. He became a counsellor at the bar; and married 
Catharine, a daughter of Vice-president Elbridge Gerry, Oct. 3, 1806. 
He was editor of the Emerald, a periodical of light literature. He 
became the town advocate in 1809, and an aid to Governor Gerry in 
1812. He was, for a period of twenty years, county-attorney for Suf- 
folk, from 1812, and has been a representative and senator. He was 
the attorney-general of Massachusetts from 1832 to 1843. In 1820 
he was a delegate to the convention for revising the State constitution. 
In 1835 he was president of the Suffolk bar. 

Mr. Austin has been a member of the Board of Overseers for Har- 
vard College from 1826 ; of the American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences, and of the New England Genealogic Historical and Massa- 
chusetts Historical Societies. He delivered an oration at Lexington, 
July 4, 1815, which was published. 

Posterity will ever remember Col. Austin, as author of the Life of 
Elbridge Gerry, embracing contemporary letters to the close of the 
Revolution. We know not how better to notice this companion of 
kindred biographers, than by selecting remarks on its character from 
the North American Review : " It is neither overloaded with specula- 
tion, nor destitute of the reflections necessary to explain, introduce, 
40* 



474 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

and connect the letters of the principal personages of the day. Colonel 
Austin has avoided an error exceedingly obvious in the composition of 
a work of this kind, — that of making it a historical sketch of the Rev- 
olution. The known events of that period are now so familiar, that, 
however natural it may be for the biographer of one of its great char- 
acters to present a continuous narrative of its occurrences, it is a far 
more judicious course — and it is that pursued by Col. Austin — to 
take for granted that the reader knows the history of the Revolution, 
and to introduce so much of it only as is convenient for the under- 
standing of the peculiar action of his hero, and the material for 
the first time presented to the reader. On a few occasions. Col. 
Austin has indulged in reflections of his own, at some length ; and at 
these times has discovered no little vigor and originality of thought, 
and pointedness of manner. 

" Elbridge Gerry is exhibited to us as the confidential associate and 
coadjutor of the great leaders, — as a distinguished leader himself; and 
in this imposing and dignified light he has deduced his history to the 
termination of the war. There is a portion — a very large and active 
portion of the community — who are prepared, already, for the contin- 
uation of the narrative. We believe no man now finds it difficult to do 
justice to those who oi^posed or who advocated the adoption of the con- 
stitution. There are not many States of the Union to which this 
ought to be a more tender theme than to Massachusetts. The conven- 
tion was almost equally balanced, — and the means employed to produce 
the desired result do not illustrate, as much as could be wished, the 
power of pure reason. Still, however, we believe we have reached an 
age when this subject could be treated, without risk of offence in any 
quarter. The same may be said of the events of a period considerably 
subsequent, in relation to the younger portion of the community, who 
have come into life since other events have been the turning points of 
the politics of the country. But, inasmuch as some of the politicians 
of the periods specified by Col. Austin are still on the stage, Ave think 
he has acted with a commendable discretion, in pausing at the close of 
the Revolution ; and we are quite willing to rest with the same dis- 
cretion the choice of the moment when the interesting narrative shall 
be resumed, prepared to welcome it whenever he shall think fit to 
present it to the American people." The American Quarterly Review, 
conducted by Robert Walsh, expresses the opinion, on the other hand, 
that "Justin proportion as Elbridge Gerry was viewed as a party leader, 



JAMES TRECOTHIC AUSTIN. 475 

and defamed and misunderstood, in that respect was it material — if his 
proceedings and dispositions could be vindicated or set in a favorable 
light — to exhibit his entire course at once, leaving no scope for the 
suspicion that some fear or mysterious reluctance was felt about show- 
ing more than the Revolutionary man. As the biography now rests, 
an inveterate Federalist, of the old school, might suggest the image of 
Horace's mermaid, and hint that it was well not to uncover the lower 
extremities. For ourselves, we shall candidly say, that, in the number 
of leaders or prominent personages in the momentous party contests 
of the interval mentioned above, Mr. Gerry is almost the only one of 
whose merits or demerits we have not been able to form a positive 
opinion ; and we lament still more the continuance of this difficulty, 
since we have read this narrative of the anterior portion of his exist- 
ence, — for it certainly has inspired us with a high idea of his Revolu- 
tionary spirit and services, and does prove, as his biographer suggests, 
'the validity of his title to those large honors which his country 
bestowed upon him.' " 

Col. Austin was a tenacious advocate of the old Republican party, and 
a decided opponent of the old Federal party, but not, it is said, a member 
of the Democratic party ; and, on the amalgamation of the Whig and 
a portion of the Democratic parties, in 1827, under the name of the 
National Republican party, an object of which was to defeat the elec- 
tion of Andrew Jackson, it was at this period that Mr. Austin united 
with the amalgamation. The high spirit of Mr. Austin, in vindication 
of the old Republican school, was strongly evinced in his articles pub- 
lished in the Boston Patriot, over the signature of Leohn, in the year 
1811, on the subject of resistance to laws of the United States, con- 
sidered in letters to the Hon. Harrison Gray Otis, and regarding the 
proceedings of a Federal caucus opposed to a new non-intercourse act 
of Congress, which Mr. Austin declared would have a tendency to 
dissolve the Union, and lead to a northern confederacy. In allusion 
to Mr. Otis, it is remarked by Mr. Austin that an orator can be great 
only when advocating a good cause. " The position is illustl'ated by 
the gentleman. Much as I admire his talents, delighted as I am in 
catching the music of his mind, on this occasion I confess my disap- 
pointment. The eagle of eloquence labored in its course. We neither 
discovered the feather that adorns the royal bird, nor the steady pinion 
that supports his flight. The gentleman was overwhelmed between 
the difficulties of denying intentional resistance, and thus subjecting 
himself to the charge of uttering a ridiculous and unmeaning threat, 



476 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

or of justifying opposition, and thus incurring the disgi-ace and ruin 
of premeditated rebellion." 

Some one said of Col. Austin, that he is small in stature, but large 
in soul. His face is -well moulded, long, but exceedingly expressive, 
and exhibits the man of energy. It is strongly marked with lines ; 
has a full, piercing eye, and something of a sandy complexion. There 
can be no mistake about his talents ; and the Avhole course of his pro- 
fessional life has been distinguished for decision, correctness, and 
despatch. When absorbed in any important debate, he commands the 
most profound attention. He has been a decided opponent of the 
measures of the anti-slavery party, and -wrote remarks on Mr. Chan- 
ning's opinions on slavery, pubhshed in 1835, and a review of his 
letter to Jonathan Phillips, published in 1839. Mr. Austin delivered 
a famous speech in Faneuil Hall, Dec. 7, 1837, on the Alton riot, 
■which was published, and in a note, alluding to lawless mobs, he 
remarks : " The blackened and battered walls of the Ursuline Convent 
will stand by the half-raised monument of Bunker Hill, 

• Like a mildewed ear, 
Blasting liia wholesome brother.' 

So long as it does stand, it will frown contemptuously on any attempt 
we may make to rebuke the violence of other people, or to admonish 
them to respect the sanctity of the law." His arguments on the con- 
vent riot, in the trial of Buzzell, were printed in 1834. 

Mr. Austin has pubhshed many State and pi'ofessional documents, 
such as. The Commonwealth's Interest in the Bridges and other Ave- 
nues into Boston, in 1835 ; on Enlarging the Jurisdiction of the Court 
of Common Pleas, 1834 ; on the Expenses of Criminal Justice, 1839 ; 
— also, an Address for the Massachusetts Society for Suppressing 
Intemperance ; an Address for the JMassachusetts Mechanic Associa- 
tion ; and has been a contributor to the Christian Examiner. 

It may well be said of Mr. Austin, that, as counsellor at the bar, as 
county-attorney, as attorney-general, as a State senator, as an overseer 
of Harvard College, he has acquitted himself with a ready capacity, 
and in a manner highly honorable to himself, and to the great benefit 
of his constituents. Moreover, as a writer on legal and political 
topics, Mr. Austin has been equalled by but few competitors ; and in 
his declining life may he show forth to the public eye the sequel to the 
Biography of Elbridge Gerry, a venerable signer of the Declaration of 
Independence, thus immortalized in the annals of Republican fame. 



CHAKLES GORDON GREENE. 477 

CHARLES GORDON GREENE. 

JULY 4, 1829. FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

Was born at Boscawen, N. H., July 1, 1804, and a son of 
Nathaniel Greene, counsellor-at-law in that town, who was a delegate 
to the convention for revising the State constitution, moderator, and 
selectman, and brother of Hon. Samuel Greene, late Chief Justice of 
the Supreme Judicial Court, in New Hampshire. His parents visited 
Virginia in 1811, and young Charles was of the party. In 1812 his 
father deceased; and his mother returned to Boscawen in 1813, 
when he was placed under the care of his brother Nathaniel, in Haver- 
hill, Mass., subsequently the post-master of Boston, who sent him to 
Bradford Academy, on the opposite side of the JNIerrimac : 

" Stream of my fathers ! sweetly, still, 
The sunset rays thy valleys fill." 

The famous preceptor, Benjamin Greenleaf, — whose pig- tailed queue 
excited a reverence as profound as was the fear of the tingling ferule, 
and whose knowledge in arithmetic renders him the Hutton of New 
England, — was then principal of this institution. Horace Mann once 
characterized Master Greenleaf as " a huge crystallization of mathe- 
matics," and whose practical arithmetics make the best accountants in 
the old Bay State. 

Young Charles was early initiated to the printing business, in his 
brother's office, at Haverhill, who was editor and publisher of the 
Essex Patriot ; and continued his apprenticeship in the office of Mr. 
Lamson, at Exeter, N. H. He went to Boston in 1822, to which city 
his brother had removed, and become the pubhsher of the Boston 
Statesman ; and was employed in this establishment until 1825, when 
he settled at Taunton, and published The Free Press one year upon 
contract, and was its editor during the latter part of the period. He 
returned to Boston, and pubhshed a literary journal, — the Boston 
Spectator, — edited by Charles Atwood, Esq., when it was united with 
another periodical, and Mr. Greene's interest in it ceased. He directly 
resumed an engagement with the Statesman, which continued until 
1827, when he removed to Philadelphia, and became partner with 
James A. Jones, Esq., in the National Palladium, a daily paper, 
which was the first in Pennsylvania to advocate the election of Andrew 



478 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Jackson to the presidency. "WTien he -withdrew from that paper, in 
December, 1827, the U. S. Gazette remarked of him, that he was an 
able champion of his party, greatly endeared by his conciliatory and 
unobtrusive deportment. Previous to this dissolution, he visited Bos- 
ton, and married Miss Charlotte Hill, of that city, Oct. 24, 1827; and 
in the succeeding spring was engaged in the oflSce of the U. S. Tele- 
graph, at Washington, owned and conducted by Gen. Duff Green, 
where he remained until after the election of Andrew Jackson to the 
presidency, when he removed to Boston, and became successor to his 
brother Nathaniel, as joint proprietor and publisher, with Benjamin 
True, of the Statesman, whose interest in the establishment Mr. 
Greene, in a few years, purchased, when he became sole owner, and, 
on November 9th, 1831, commenced the publication of the Boston 
Morning Post. 

Col. Greene has been a representative in the Legislature of this 
State, and in 1848 was an aid to Gov. Morton. He has been a can- 
didate for the mayoralty of Boston, and for Congress, for presidential 
elector, and for the State Senate ; — but, as the Democracy is rarely a 
favorite in the old Bay State, a private station is his post of honor, as 
would a public station be honored in his election. The warmth of his 
zeal in favor of the election of Andrew Jackson to the presidency is 
strikingly evinced in this glowing passage from an oration, delivered 
July 4, 1831 : "His race is run out. Not a drop of his blood will 
be left flowing when he is gone ; not a lip to say, ' I glory in his 
memory, for he was my kinsman.' Is it not, my friends, — is it not a 
spectacle to move and touch the very soul ? If there be moral sub- 
hmity in anything, it is in unmingled self-devotion to one's country ; 
and what but this could have arrested, on the very threshold of the 
tomb, the feet of him, who, though he turns to bless his country at 
her call, sees no child nor relative leaning forward to catch the mantle 
of his glory? " 

Col. Greene is esteemed as much for his blandness and affability as 
he is for candor and kindness of heart. David Henshaw said of him : 
" He is the self-made, self-taught man, — the energetic and polished 
writer ; he shows the superiority of real worth over fictitious great- 
ness." The Daily Post is the leading New England political advocate 
of the Democracy, which, by its generous spirit, is moulding powerful 
influences on our young men ; and will ever be famous for having 
perpetrated a greater number of effective witticisms than any of its 



CHARLES GORDON GREENE. 479 

rivals; and the general good-nature of Mr. Greene is emphatically 
characterized in the remark of the amiable IMrs. Partington, who said, 
"I can't see the use of people's quarreUing. It 's very strange that 
thej can't live together in peace and concordance, without all this bit- 
terness and antimony." We would not assert that Mr. Greene is the 
chronicler of Mrs. Partington, but we do say that the spirit of his paper 
often partakes of her kindliness. We have seen the puns of this daily 
as sensibly affect the risibles of the sedate old man of eighty, as they 
do the merry youths of sixteen. Indeed, we cannot be parted from the 
celebrated Mrs. Partington, without an allusion to her wedding. " I 
never know'd anything gained by being too much of a hurry," said 
the old lady. "When me and my dear Paul was married, he was in 
sich a tripidation that he came nigh marrying one of the bride's-maids 
instead of me, by mistake. He was sich a queer man," she continued; 
"why, he jined the fire department; and one night, in his hurry, he 
put his boots on hind part afore, and, as he ran along, everybody behind 
him got tripped up. The papers was full of crowner's quests on 
broken legs and hmbs, for a week afterwards ; " and she relapsed into 
an abstraction on the ups and downs of life. — All parties eagerly read 
the Daily Post. 

The Granite State, a noble place from which to migrate, long pro- 
verbial as the political Nazareth of this republic, is ever remarkable for 
the production of as great statesmen, enterprising sons of commerce, 
and successful professional men, as may be found in any other State. 
Mr. Greene is a devoted advocate of the Democratic party, and is as tena- 
cious for its triumph, and is as little likely to espouse the Whig cause, 
as are the people of his native State ; yet we even hope a revolution of 
political opinion over this granite soil. When democracy was at its 
zenith in Massachusetts, he once said, " If our old opponents would 
enter the Temple of Democracy, they must leave their bundle of sin 
at its gates." We would hope that the Whigs would ever banish their 
sins, and never enter the temple but to elevate the standard of repub- 
licanism, and consign all party intolerance to the shades of oblivion. 

Mr. Greene, in the oration at the head of this article, makes a remark 
regarding the politics of Massachusetts, which indicates the fact that this 
State and his native State are ahke decided, but at directly opposite 
points. ' ' Old Massachusetts is still in'leading-strings. She still follows 
— though she will not long follow — the blind guides who have always 
been anxious to persuade her ' that rebellion lay in her way,' and that 



480 THE HUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

she could not choose but find it. The halls of legislation which, but a 
few years since, beheld Eustis and Morton at the head of a triumphant 
Democratic majority, now enclose an appalling majority of the Hartford 
Convention malecontents of 1814. This is a spectacle which the 
unsophisticated Democrats of Massachusetts contemplate with such 
sentiments of indignant contempt as the patriotic Frenchman must 
have entertained when he beheld the Cossacks of the Don and Calmuc 
Tartars from the wall of China establishing their bivouac in the Elysian 
Fields of Paris." This is the sharpest party opinion that we have 
noticed from his pen. The principal object of this oration is to vindi- 
cate the policy of reforms in office, and contravene the opinions of Clay 
and Adams on this point. 

Mr. Greene pronounced another oration, already alluded to, July 4, 
1831, in Faneuil Hall. This passage is the finishing paragraph of the 
peroration: " Immortal spirits, who went before us, — ye Avho have 
given us the blessing for which the extended poean of half a world is 
ringing at this moment ! Fathers of our Revolution ! year after year 
throws its new blaze of light upon your virtues. Revolution after rev- 
olution, and unresented wrong after wrong, shows of what temper ye 
were. With unity of heart, compensating for weakness of hand ; with 
inflexible energy, and high resolve, and matchless devotion, making an 
infant nation stronger than its parent, and setting the bright spirit of 
Liberty on her high seat, amid the resistance, and with the exacted 
consent, of armed thousands, hitherto invincible ! 

' Immortal heirs of universal praise ! 
Whose honors with increase of ages grow. 
As streams roll down, enlarging as tliey flow ; 
Nations unborn your mighty name shall sound, 
And worlds applaud, that must not yet be found ' ' " 



ALEXANDER HILL EVERETT. 

JULY 4, 1830. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

In the oration of Mr. Everett, we find a passage showing that the 
author of the draft of the Declaration of Independence — Thomas Jef- 
ferson — so highly estimated the honor, as to wish that it might be 
inscribed upon his tombstone, " The Author of the Declaration of 
Independence ; " and this was done. The committee appointed for pre- 



ALEXANDER HILL EVERETT. 481 

paring this instrument, June 11, 1776, consisted of Jefferson, Adams, 
Franklin, Sherman, and Livingston. " It -was a singular proof of the 
force of Mr. Jefferson's character, and of the confidence that was gen- 
erally felt in his talents and virtues, that, although one of the youngest 
members of Congress," says Mr. Everett, — "probably the youngest 
of all, — he was yet placed at the head of this important committee ; 
containing, too, as it did, such men as Frankhn and John Adams. To 
the fervid and active friendship of the latter of these two statesmen, 
afterwards his political rival, but then his ablest and most ardent coad- 
jutor, he probably owed this distinction, as appears from the account of 
the circumstances attending the appointment of the committee, given 
by Mr. Adams himself in his letter to Mr. Pickering, of August 6, 
1822. ' Mr. Jefferson,' he remarks, ' came into Congress in June, 
1775, and brought with him a reputation for literature, science, and a 
happy talent for composition. Writings of his were handed about, 
remarkable for their peculiar felicity of expression. Though a silent 
member of Congress, he was so prompt, frank and explicit, upon com- 
mittees, — not even Samuel Adams more so, — that he soon seized upon 
my heart ; and upon this occasion I gave him my vote, and did all in 
my power to procure him the votes of others. I think he had one 
more vote than any other, and that placed him at the head of the com- 
mittee. I had the next highest number, which placed me second.' 
Mr. Adams then proceeds to remark, that the committee of five met, 
and, after discussing the subject, appointed Mr. Jefferson and himself a 
sub-committee to prepare the draft. The sub-committee met in turn ; 
and, after an amicable altercation upon the question which of the two 
should perform the task, — each endeavoring to devolve it on the other, 
— it was finally assigned, as was naturally to be expected from the 
order of the precedence in the committee, to Mr. Jefferson. It ought 
to be remarked, that it was not the object of either of these patriots to 
avoid responsibihty or labor. Each, with the genuine modesty that 
belongs to real merit, believed the other to be more capable than him- 
self of doing justice to this most delicate and critical occasion ; and 
each was Avilling and desirous to sacrifice to consideration for the 
public good what both very properly regarded as an enviable distinc- 
tion. That Mr. Jefferson should have been the first to yield was, as I 
have just remarked, the natural result of his place in the committee. 
The draft made by Mr. Jefferson having been examined by Mr. Adams, 
and afterwards accepted by the committee of five, was reported to 
41 



482 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Congress -ffithout alteration, as it stood in the hand-Avriting of the 
author. 

"On the first of July, the resolutions moved by Richard Henry 
Lee, for declaring independence, the further consideration of which, as 
I have said before, had been postponed from the 11th of the preceding 
month until that day, were taken up again in committee of the whole, 
and, having been debated through the day, were reported to Congress. 
The subject was then postponed until the following day, which was the 
2d of July, when the resolutions were taken up in Congress, and, after 
further debate, finally passed. On the 3d of July, the draft of the 
Declaration of Independence was reported to Congress by Mr. Jefier- 
son, as chairman of the committee of five who had been appointed to 
prepare it ; and, having been fully considered, and amended in several 
points, on the following day, which was the 4th of July, was adopted. 
The original draft, as reported by the author, has since been printed, 
and brought into comparison with the amended form which appears in 
the official publication. The alterations made in Congress, thougii not 
essential to the effect of the paper, are in general for the better ; and 
give a high idea of the calmness and judgment with which our fathers 
proceeded in maturing every part of this important and dehcate 
transaction. In this manner was prepared and adopted the celebrated 
Declaration of Independence." 

Alexander Hill was son of Rev. Oliver Everett, a minister of New 
South Church, in Boston, afterwards Judge of Common Pleas for Nor- 
folk, and was born at Boston, March 19, 1790 ; graduated at Harvard 
College in 1806, on which occasion his theme was on " the Eifects of 
the General Diffusion of Literature ; " became a counsellor-at-law, and 
married Lucretia Orne, daughter of Judge Oliver Peabody, of Exeter, 
N. H., Oct. 21, 1816. He was the orator for the Phi Beta Kappa 
Society, in 1813. In 1825 Mr. Everett was minister to Spain. He 
succeeded Mr. Jared Sparks, in 1830, as editor of the North American 
Review. He became president of Jefferson College, in Louisiana, in 
1841, when his inaugural address was published. He was appointed, 
by President Polk, in 1847, the commissioner to China ; and died at 
Canton, on June 28, 1847, aged 57 years. 

The Democratic Review of November, 1847, remarks of Mr. Ever- 
ett, that, in political life, he rose to the most conspicuous stations, which 
he owed rather to the elevation of his mind, and the distinction of his 
character, than to mere party service ; for, happily, he was not one of 



ALEXANDER HILL EVERETT. 483 

those -who, in the eager pursuit of personal aggrandizement, sacrificed 
to the hollow shrine of party devotion talents and acquirements des- 
tined for a higher purpose and a purer sphere. No ; to his honor be 
it said, that he never 

" Narrowed his mind 
And gave up to party what was meant for mankind." 

Mr. Everett was an eminent writer ; and, besides his very useful 
contributions in the North American Review, we find two very import- 
ant works, which writers on political economy will ever resort to for 
light on the subject. We allude to his New Ideas on Population, and 
his last production, consisting of a letter on the condition of China, 
in reference to the Malthusian theory, addressed to George Tucker, 
dated Macao, April 30, 1847, which illustrates the conception, to use 
Everett's own words, that "density of population, far from being a 
cause of comparative scarcity, is itself the proximate cause of the com- 
parative abundance of the necessaries and comforts of life which we 
witness in China, and most other densely peopled countries." He Avas 
author of two political treatises on Europe and America, of elevated 
character, and Memoirs of Gen. Warren and Patrick Henry. Two 
volumes of his miscellaneous productions have been published since his 
decease. He was a vigorous writer, ambitious and unfortunate. The 
political influence of his productions will perpetuate his memory for 
ages to come. 



HENRY BARNEY SMITH. 

JULY 4, 1830. FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

Was the son of Barney Smith, a merchant in State-street ; gradu- 
ated at Harvard College in 1809, when he engaged in a dialogue on 
the differences in the character of the ancient and modern Greeks ; was 
a counsellor-at-law, and president of the Boston Debating Society. He 
has been a firm advocate of the Democratic Republican party, and a man 
of more than ordinary talent. In 1822 he delivered a 4th of July 
oration at Dorchester. In 1824 Mr. Smith delivered another, at the 
Marlboro', in Boston. It was said of him, after giving the third ora- 
tion, at the public dinner, that "he is an uncompromising democrat. 



484 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

who has sketched the Protean visage of aristocracy in thoughts that 
breathe and words that burn." 

" Why is it," said Mr. Smith, " that some of our politicians cling so 
fondly to the superannuated perpetuities of the Old World, and view 
with ill-disguised aversion the improvements of the New? There is a 
conspiracy of private interest with unprincipled ambition, in England 
and our own country, to pervert history and misrepresent fact, — to 
preoccupy the avenues of education, and poison the infant mind with 
absurd theories and exploded doctrines. Why is Hume, the apologist 
of arbitrary power, set up as a classic, and put into the hands of chil- 
dren as authentic history 1 Why is Julius Caesar lauded in our public 
schools, and Caius Gracchus stigmatized as a demagogue, when the one 
overturned the government of his country by a military force, and the 
other was put to death by a mob of Roman senators, led on by an infu- 
riated high-priest of a false religion ? Whence is it that myriads may 
be sacrificed on the field of battle, by executions, by imprisonments, for 
the unprincipled ambition of princely power, and not a sigh — not a 
murmur — is heard in after times to lament their fate ; but, if an indi- 
vidual falls a sacrifice to the rage of an indignant populace, goaded to 
desperation by long-continued oppression, our histories are groaning 
with the details? Imagination is on the rack to invent some new hor- 
ror. All that the art and ingenuity of man can conjure up is added 
to heighten the picture of suffering, or deepen the shade of guilt, until 
the feeling mind is excruciated with the sense of human depravity. 
The people are not always aware of their rights, and may patiently 
submit for a time, as in the days of the Henrys and Elizabeths, to reg- 
ister the decrees of those Avho usurp the sovereignty over them. But, 
unfortunately, there can be no statute of limitations to debar them of 
their unalienable inheritance. In the despotic governments, important 
changes are sometimes obtained through the horrors of a revolution ; 
but in this country every object of good government is secured through 
the salutary influence of reform, and a fearless reliance on enlightened 
public opinion. The spread of intelligence and the consciousness of 
power among the people will necessarily keep our social, civil and 
political institutions, in the onward path of progressive improvement." 



JOHN GOKHAM PALFREY. 485 

JOHN GORHAM PALFREY. 

JULY 4, 1831. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

Was born in Boston, May 2, 1796 ; and was grandson of William 
Palfrey, a paymaster-general in the army of the Revolution, and an 
aid-de-camp to Washington on the occupation of Dorchester, of whom 
Harrison Gray Otis remarked: "His person was of the middle size, 
his countenance animated, his gait quick, with a military air ; his man- 
ners genteel and commanding, and his deportment to me as a boy con- 
descending and affable. I also think I remember the sound of his 
voice, clear and sonorous ; and his image is before me as that of a gen- 
tleman of the old school, — pohte, manly, and elegant." The father of 
the subject of this notice, .John Palfrey, was in early life a merchant in 
Demarara, and afterwards a ship-chandler in Boston, who removed, in 
1804, to the Territory of Louisiana, where he died in the autumn of 
1843, at his plantation of Isle 1' Abbaye, St. Martin's ; when, among 
other bequests, he left twenty-two slaves to his son John G., who nobly 
emancipated them ; — and thus, in the language of Sumner, without 
army or navy, by a simple act of self-renunciation, has given freedom 
to a larger number of Christian American slaves than AYas done by the 
sword of Decatur. 

Young John received his elementary education under William Payne, 
schoolmaster, in Berry-street, who was father of the " Young American 
Roscius." He was prepared for college, in 1809, at Exeter Academy. 
When he graduated at Harvard College, in 1815, his theme was. On 
Republican Institutions as affecting Private Character ; and, at a public 
exhibition, he gave an oration on the Errors of Genius. Mr. Palfrey 
became a student in theology, and in 1818 was ordained to the pastoral 
care of the Brattle-street Church ; which station he honorably occupied 
until his appointment to the office of Dexter Professor of Sacred Litera- 
ture in Harvard College, in 1831, which he resigned in 1839. He 
married Mary, daughter of Samuel Hammond, Esq., of Boston. The 
oration at the head of this article exhibits sound and practical politics. 
Its whole doctrine is the principle of life adapted to improve the quality 
and increase the quantity of individual happiness, and to secure the 
perpetuity of national glory. He enlarges on three topics essential to 
our national honor, a hearty attachment to the union of the States, a 
41* 



486 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

care to have the administration in proper hands, and a national litera- 
ture. In 1839 Mr. Palfrey gave the discourse at the centennial cele- 
bration of the first settlement of the town of Barnstable. 

Mr. Palfrey published his own autobiography in a letter to a friend, 
with this motto on the title-page : " Let all the ends thou aim'st at be 
thy country's, thy God's, and truth's." 

We will continue tlie history of Mr. Palfrey, in his own language, 
to the period of his election to Congress in 1847 : "In the year 1831, 
after thirteen years' service in the parochial ministry in Boston, I 
accepted a professorship in the theological department of the university, 
and removed to Cambridge. My partial friends in the religious soci- 
ety with which I had been connected objected to my taking that step, 
and urged that it was not wise ; but no doubt of its being taken under 
a disinterested sense of duty ever reached me from any quarter. My 
position had been everything that heart could desire ; and never more 
attractive, to say the least, than when I relinquished it. Separating 
myself from relatives and friends, I left for a place, to be retained, as I 
supposed, for the rest of my life ; where I was to have more labor, less 
leisure, less compensation, and social position and advantages certainly 
not superior to what I left behind. Except that I was not in ill health, 
I took the step under the same circumstances as the same step had been 
taken just before by the late Rev. Dr. Ware, Jr. ; and I have never 
heard that he was charged with being prompted by political or any 
other worldly ambition. 

" After four years, with a view to add to my pecuniary means, which 
proved unequal to the wants of an increased family, I became editor 
of the North American Review. I am ashamed to Avrite of matters of 
such purely personal concern ; but the impudent and false constructions 
put upon them by those who have felt justified in criticizing so distant 
a period of my life compel me to the unwelcome task. At the end of 
four years more, — namely, in 1839, — my situation was this : During 
five days and a half of every week of the college terms, I was doing 
harder and more exhausting work, in the lecture-room and in prepara- 
tion for it, than I have ever done in any other way. I was one of the 
three preachers in the University Chapel : and, during my turn of duty, 
in what remained of Saturday after the week's lecturing was done, I 
had to prepare for the rehgious service which I conducted on Sunday. 
As dean (or executive officer) of the theological faculty, I was charged 
with affairs of administration in that department of the university. 



JOHN GORHAM PALFREY. 487 

As editor of the North American Review, I was under ololigation to 
lay before the pubhc two hundred and fifty or more closely-printed 
octavo pages, every quarter. I had in press a work, of some extent 
and labor, on the Hebrew Scriptures. And imprudently, perhaps, 
but for apparently sufficient cause, I had engaged to deliver and print 
courses of Lectures for the Lowell Institute, — which, accordingly, I 
did deliver, in 1839, 1840, and the two following winters. 

"These things united made a task too great for the health and 
strength of most men. At all events, it was too great for mine. 
Plain indications showed that I must have some relief, or be crushed, 
body and mind. My permanent engagements were, the professorship 
in the university, and the editorship of the Review. In the Review 
was embarked a large capital, for me ; and, to dissolve my connection 
with it, until there should be an opportunity for an advantageous sale, 
was not to be thought of, because this would have been to put it out of 
my power to reimburse the friends to whom I was indebted for the 
investment. I did not desire to resign my professorship. Nor did I 
yet contemplate such a movement. My plan Avas, to obtain such relief 
as seemed absolutely necessary, and no more, by a dispensation from a 
portion of its duties. A recent event had put it in my power to relin- 
quish a part of my income from that source. I accordingly made a 
communication to the corporation of the college, proposing to give up 
the less important part of my duties, and with them three-eighths parts 
of my salary, and submitting a plan by which I thought they might be 
executed, at less expense to the institution, and without derangement 
of the system of the department. The corporation, after conference 
with me by a committee, and consultation among themselves, acceded 
to my proposal, and passed a vote accordingly. A copy was trans- 
mitted to me, and the transaction was complete. 

"A few days passed, and the president called upon me, to give me 
information which, as he very properly said, he thought I ought to 
possess. He told me that, at a subsequent meeting of the corporation, 
more full than those at which my proposal had been considered and 
acted on, dissatisfaction had been expressed Avith the arrangement on 
the part of members who had been absent, on grounds having refer- 
ence to the general pohcy of the college, and the inexpediency of 
precedents of this nature. His communication was limited to giving 
me this information, without any suggestion that further action was 
expected from me, or was contemplated by the corporation, in the way 



488 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of a reversal of what had taken place. But it cost little reflection to 
show me that I could not, with propriety, take advantage of a vote, 
which it appeared would not have been passed in full board, against 
such opinions of a minority. It was equally clear that I must not 
think of going on as I had done. Accordingly, on a revision of the 
whole subject, I announced my intention to resign at the end of the 
academical year. This was done with perfect good feeling on both 
sides ; of which feeling towards myself the most flattering evidence was 
afforded, in documents placed in my hands by the authorities of the 
college. I did not remain in Cambridge, where I had lived eight 
years, as, according to the theory lately broached of my movements, I 
should have done, to pursue objects of political ambition. I removed, 
in the autumn, to Boston, advertising my house in Cambridge to let, 
— which was effected in the summer of the next year. And this is the 
whole story of my separation from the college, — an event unexpected 
and undcsircd by me, and connected with no ulterior views, beyond 
the preservation of my life and health. My object in it has been pre- 
posterously misrepresented. There is not a shadow of proof, nor have 
I any recollection or belief, that I had then any more thoughts of a 
course of life like that into which unexpected circumstances have since 
led me, than I now have of becoming the Emperor of China. 

"Having lived in Boston two years, engaged in my studies, in the 
management of the North American Review, and in the preparation and 
publication of my Lectures before the Lowell Institute, — not writing 
a line for any newspaper, nor seeking political associations of any kind, 
nor thinking of politics more than every tolerably well-informed per- 
son, with whatever pursuits, maybe suj^posed to do, — I was elected by 
ray fellow-citizens of that place to represent them in the General Court 
of the commonwealth, for the years 1842 and 1843. It has been said 
and printed, that, by way of introducing myself to pohtical life, I 
became a frequent attendant at the primary meetings, after my removal 
to Boston. To the best of my knowledge and belief, I never was in a 
primary meeting until after I had taken my seat as representative in 
the General Court. To the best of my knowledge and belief, I never 
was in a primary meeting but three times in my life ; namely, on the 
6th of January, and the 31st of August, 1842, at Boston, and on the 
21st of September, 1847, at Cambridge. To the best of my knowl- 
edge and belief, no solicitations — not so much as any hints — from 
me led to my nomination for the General Court. If any one supposes 



JOHN GORHAM PALFREY. 489 

that he knows anything to the contrary of this, I desire him to make 
it public. 

" Though I took a part in other measures, — for the responsibility 
of a representative was upon me, — my regular business in the house 
was that of chairman of the committee on education, a place assigned 
to me without the slightest motion, and, I will add, without the slight- 
est expectation, of my own. It was a place, however, I suppose, not 
unsuitable for a person of my habits, as it has been repeatedly filled 
by clergymen, before and since. And it procured me a pleasure of 
the choicest kind. With others of that committee, I was subsequently 
placed on a special joint committee, to whom were referred the subject 
of the continuance of Normal Schools, — the first provision, for only 
three years, having then expired, — and a proposal for the establish- 
ment of school-district libraries. The committee determined that 
resolves should be reported to continue the Normal Schools, and estab- 
lish the libraries ; that they should be introduced in the house, and that 
I should prepare and take charge of them in that body. Under cir- 
cumstances of no little difficulty, these were carried through, and 
became a law on the 3d of JNIarch, 1842. I look back upon that day as 
the date of the most useful public service I ever rendered, excepting, 
only, the day of my first vote in the Congress of the United States. 

" In 184.3, by reason of straitened circumstances, — the causes of 
which there is no need to explain, but which were not such then, or at 
any other time, as to occasion to any person the loss of a cent by me, 
— I disposed of the property and relinquished the editorship of the 
North American Review, which, as things stood, was inadequate to 
my needs, and looted about for some advantageous employment of my 
time. Should it be asked, why, released from other engagements, I 
did not seek to resume my former profession, there are those who will 
understand why one should be reluctant to return to that profession, 
when relinquished, as a resource for a livelihood. From time to time, 
as opportunity has occurred, I have freely given other reasons, in my 
judgment of great weight ; and am always ready to do so to any one 
who has a curiosity on the subject. I shall, probably, be thought to 
have already thrown off reserve quite sufficiently as to these personal 
matters, without going further, now, on this point. I will but add, 
that, since retiring from the University, in 1889, I have published 
three octavo volumes on important subjects in theology ; and I may, 
hereafter, lay before the pubhc some further evidence that I have not 



490 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

forsaken the studies proper to the clerical profession, but. on the con- 
trary, have devoted to them more time than the routine of parochial 
services would have allowed me to command. 

"The administration of the State government was changed by the 
result of the fall election of 1843, and it was understood that there 
would be a change in the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth. 
My desire to be considered a candidate having been made known to 
my friends, I was elected to that office by the General Court in the 
following January. I hope that in the four years I held it the com- 
monwealth received no detriment from me. 

"The duties of the secretary's office, of so different a description 
from the employment to which I had been accustomed, may well be 
supposed to have been found, at first, somewhat irksome and distaste- 
ful. But use and method made them easy, and not unpleasant. If 
not very interesting or intellectual, they were, at all events, not at all 
exhausting ; and, by method and diligence, I found myself able to per- 
form them with exactness within such a daily allowance of time as to 
leave considerable leisure for more congenial pursuits. The emolu- 
ment, joined to my private resources, was enough to enable me to live 
with frugal comfort, and educate my children. In short, I was living 
very satisfactorily, and desired nothing different. But so it was not 
ordered. Though, while a representative in the General Court, I had 
been sent as a delegate from Boston to the "Whig State convention, in 
September, 1842, and though I made two or three speeches in the pres- 
idential contest of 1844, — the annexation of Texas being already a 
pending question, — it was in the autumn of 1845 that I first became 
connected, in any material way, Avitli political transactions. If I mistake 
not, that was a time when Christian man or Christian minister might 
well think that it did not misbecome him to take an interest in public 
affairs. For my part, I am most confidently of the opinion, that the 
cause of truth and righteousness, of God and of man, demanded quite 
as much active service, at that time, in the popular assembhes, as in 
the pulpits, of the land. In the summer of 1846, my friend, Mr. 
Charles Francis Adams, having assumed the editorship of the ' Boston 
Whig,' I contributed to that journal a series of twenty-six numbers, 
entitled ' Papers on the Slave Power.' They attracted some atten- 
tion, and were presently after collected in a pamphlet, which passed 
through three editions." 

In the autumn of 1846, overtures were made to Mr. Palfrey to 



JOHN GORHAM PALFEEY. 491 

become a candidate for Congress in the fourth congressional district, as 
successor to Benjamin Thompson, vrho had made known his intention 
to withdraw, which Mr. Palfrey declined ; but such an earnest desire 
for his services was expressed, that, " after much and long hesitation, 
I yielded to the representations which were made to me," said Mr. 
Palfrey, " that, as a matter of public duty, I was bound to recede from 
my position. I am glad that I did not then know all the personal 
consequences which were involved in that decision. I fear that I 
might not have had spirit to encounter them ; and then some approba- 
tion of my conscience, which I now possess, for duty since honestly 
performed, would have been lost." Mr. Palfrey was elected to Con- 
gress for the December session of 1847, until after the March session 
of 1849 ; and this appeal to the public was pubhshed after ten attempts 
at his reelection had been defeated. This political memoir, extending 
along twenty-eight pages, is interesting. We cannot forbear quoting 
one more passage, regarding the loss of old friends : " Up to the age 
of fifty years," says he, " I suppose very few men had more; and 
whether I, on my part, have been constant in friendship, — whether I 
have been easily provoked, or alienated in high party times, or in any 
times, — let those who have tried me answer. The little slights and 
affronts by which the common associates of former days find it suitable 
to express their disapprobation are disagreeable, no doubt ; but they 
are not much more. The change in friends of as many years as make 
up half the recognized term of human life, — the coldness of some, the 
separation from others, the loud and acrimonious hostility of others, — 
is not altogether the same thing. It is pretty common for me, of late, 
to meet ' hard unkindness' altered eye,' in faces which from boyhood 
before never looked at me but with kindness and smiles. I have been 
addressed with rude language in the streets, when accosting some old 
acquaintance. Persons whose youth I have tried to serve do not rec- 
ognize me as we pass. I dare say it is very manly, and all that, to 
say that one cares nothing about such things. But that is a virtue 
beyond my mark, I do care for them ; probably too much. I care 
for them so much, that I devoutly thank God that he did not let me 
know to the full extent what was coming, when I took my course. 
Had I known it, I hope I should have had the courage to do precisely 
as I have done. But no man is entirely certain of himself; and, had 
1 fully seen what I was incurring, it is possible that I might have 
flinched. As it is, I am safely past the flinching point." 



492 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Mr. Palfrey is a political Abolitionist, of the Free-soil party, and is 
a decided advocate of the cause. While some were of opinion that his 
vote against Winthrop as the Speaker of the House in Congress was 
an ineffaceable stain on the honor of Middlesex, others proclaimed that 
it was probably one of the most useful acts of his life ; and John 
Quincy Adams is said to have exclaimed, after the delivery of his 
celebrated abolition speech in Congress, " Thank God ! the seal is 
broken ! " Was it consistent in Mr. Palfrey, who acted in Congress 
unpledged, to endeavor to secure pledges from Mr. Winthrop in regard 
to the constitution of those committees which have especial sw^ve'd- 
lance of subjects connected with war and slavery? Some say his 
former conservative spirit gave him a more elevated influence than his 
radicalism will ever effect. 

Mr. Palfrey is a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
and pronounced a valuable semi-centennial discourse before the insti- 
tution, Oct 31, 1844. While Mr. Palfrey applauds the society for an 
undeviating devotion to its interests, his opponents remark that it 
would be a happy circumstance if the quotation he so pertinently 
apphed to them could be adapted to himself, as regards his political 
career. He remarks to the society, it should be ours to justify it 
in saying, 

" While I remain above the ground, you shall 

Hear from me still, and never of me aught 

But what is like me formerly ; — tliat 's 

Worthily as any ear can hear." 

Mr. Palfrey is a man of varied learning. Though his style is, at 
times, rather involved with qualifying clauses, we often find great 
beauty of diction. He published two discourses on the History of 
the Brattle-street Church. He wrote the Life of William Palfrey, 
Paymaster-general in the Army of the Revolution ; Practical Dis- 
courses on Domestic Duties ; Lectures on the Jewish Scriptures and 
Antiquities, 2 vols. 8vo. ; Lowell Lectures on the Evidences of Chris- 
tianity, 2 vols. Svo. ; and many other productions. There can be no 
question of the patriotic motives of Mr. Palfrey in political matters, 
any more than of his devotion to the interests of general literature and 
humanity. 



WILLIAM FOSTER OTIS. 493 

WILLIAM FOSTER OTIS. 

JULY 4, 1831. FOR THE YOUNG MEN OF BOSTON. 

Was born in Boston, Dec. 1, 1801, and the son of Harrison Gray 
Otis, and Sally Foster, his wife. He entered the Latin School in 1813 ; 
graduated at Harvard College in 1821, where he took part in a con- 
ference on the state of physical science, oratory, fine writing, and met- 
aphysics, in England, during the reign of Queen Anne ; read law with 
Harrison Gray Otis, Jr., and Augustus Peabody; became a counscl- 
lor-at-law, and married Emily, a daughter of Josiah Marshall, Esq., a 
selectman of Boston, May 18, 1831, who died Aug. 17, 1836, aged 29. 

Mr. Otis was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery 
Company, in 1828 ; a major in the Boston regiment, a judge-advocate, 
a representative to the State Legislature, and president of the Young 
Men's Temperance Society. 

At the public festival in Faneuil Hall, after the delivery of the ora- 
tion for the young men of this city, the following sentiment was given 
to the orator of the day : " Rich in the hereditary possession of the vir- 
tues and talents of his ancestors, — far richer in possessing the hearts 
of the present generation." 

We will quote the peroration of this performance : "Do Ave suppose 
that we can shed our liberty upon other countries without exertion, 
and let it fall upon them like the dew which stirs not the leaf 7 No ; 
liberty must be long held suspended over them in the atmosphere, by 
our unseen and unwearied power. The more intense the heat which 
oppresses them, the more must it saturate and surcharge the air, till, 
at last, when the ground is parched dry, when vegetation is crisped up, 
and the gasping people are ready to plunge into destruction for relief, 
then will it call forth its hosts from every quarter of the horizon ; 
then will the sky be overcast, the landscape darkened, and Liberty, at 
one peal, with one flash, will pour down her miUion streams; then 
will she hft up the voice, which echoed, in days of yore, from the 
peaks of Otter to the Grand Monadnock ; then will 

' Jura answer tlirough her misty cloud. 
Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud.' 

" We are asked upon what is our reliance in times of excitement ; 
what checks have we upon popular violence ; what compensation for 
42 



494 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

human infirmities ; -what substitutes for bayonets, dragoons, and an 
aristocracy? I answer, the religion and morality of the people. Not 
the religion of the State ; not the morality of the fashionable. Thank 
Heaven, our house is of no Philistine arcliitecture ! Our trust — our 
only trust — is where it ought to be, — the religion and morality of the 
whole people. Upon that depends, and ought to depend, all that we 
enjoy or hope. Our strength is in length, in breadth, and in depth. 
It is in us, and must be felt and exercised by each one and all of us, 
or our downfall is doomed. For we are the people ; we are our gov- 
ernors ; we are the Lord's anointed ; we are the powers that be, and 
we bear not the sword in vain. And upon us is the responsibility ; 
humble and obscure, domestic and retiring, secluded and sohtary, we 
may be, — but ours is still the great national trust, go where we will ; 
and to God are we, one and all, accountable. Our responsibihty is with 
us ; it weighs upon us ; it overhangs us, like the dome of this house ; 
its universal pressure is the great principle of our protection. If the 
just rules of religion and morality pervade through all its parts, the 
prodigious weight is gracefully sustained ; but if vice and corruption 
creep in its divided circles, the enfeebled fabric will yawn in dread 
chasms, and, crumbling, will overwhelm us with unutterable ruin!" 



TIMOTHY rULLEE. 

JULY 11, 1831. FOR THE ANTI-MASONIO SOCIETY. 

Was son of Rev. Timothy Fuller, of Princeton, Mass., and was 
born at Chilmark, July 11, 1778. He graduated at Harvard College 
in 1801, on which occasion he took part in the discussion, whether 
occupancy creates a right of property. He was tAvo years a teacher in 
Leicester Academy, and read law with the father of Gov. Levi Lincoln, 
of whom he acquired his Democratic views. He studied law, and prac- 
tised in Boston, having his residence at Cambridge. His remarkable 
logical acuteness, unwavering integrity, and habitual philanthropy, aided 
by unwearied apphcation, won for him rapid distinction. As a speaker, 
he was remarkable for ready address and forcible language, producing 
popular effect. He was an active and spirited leader in the Anti- 
masonic movement of 1831, and was president of the Anti-masonic 



JOSIAH QUINCY, JR. 495 

convention of Massachusetts. He espoused the cause of Democracy, 
and his pohtical opinions are made very obvious in an oration he deliv- 
ered at Watertown, July 4, 1809. Mr. Fuller was a senator of his 
native State from 1813 to '16; was a representative from Middlesex 
for Congress during the period from 1817 to '25. He was speaker of 
the house, in the State Legislature, in 1825, and one of the governor's 
Council in 1828. 

Mr. Fuller was an earnest advocate for the election of John Quincy 
Adams to the presidency ; and that distinguished patriot owed his most 
elevated station, in no small degree, to his untiring eiforts. He had 
put forth his energies to elevate ]\Ir. Adams to the chair of his native 
State, but without success. 

Mr. Fuller made several noted speeches in Congress, among which 
was his caustic philippic on the Seminole War, that attracted marked 
attention. He was chairman of the naval committee, and his labors in 
that department are held in grateful remembrance. In the last years 
of his life, he withdrew from business, and retired to Groton. A 
favorite project with him was to write a history of the United States, 
and that object he hoped to accomplish in his retirement, from the 
ample materials he had gathered during his public career ; but his 
decease, on the 1st day of October, 1835, removed him before his plan 
had ripened for completion. Mr. Fuller married Margaret Crane, of 
Canton, and had seven children, one of whom was Margaret, who 
married the Marquis Ossoli, of Italy, — a lady highly estimated in 
the literary world, who perished in the wreck of the ship Elizabeth, 
on Fire Island, near New York, July 19, 1850. Though Mr. Fuller 
was involved in the outlay of time and money incident to a political 
life, he left a handsome fortune accumulated in his profession. 



JOSIAH QUINCY, JR. 

JULY 4, 1832. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

"Citizens of Boston," says our orator, in the peroration of this 
performance, "you are now assembled where, more than half a century 
ago, your fathers stood, and where, half a century hence, your chil- 
dren will probably stand, to celebrate the glories of the American Rev- 



496 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

olution. May the orator of that day speak of a confederated republic, 
stretching from ocean to ocean, filled with arts, and civihzation, and free- 
dom ! May he speak of the fathers of the Revolution as the instru- 
ments of establishing and extending the blessings of liberty over this 
land, and over the world ! May he appeal to the then living constitu- 
tion of our country, as an abiding witness of the wisdom and foresight 
of men who framed an instrument which a century could scarce 
improve ! May he kindle the patriotism of his hearers by pointing to 
the monument that rises over the spot wdiere Warren fell, and to the 
fields throughout our land that were wet with the blood of the victims in 
the cause of independence ! But, in the height of his enthusiasm, may 
he pause and testify of the men of this generation. May he say, and 
say truly, that they gained a victory more glorious than was ever won 
on a tented field ; that the men of the east and of the west, the man- 
ufacturer of the north, the planter of the south, overcame selfishness, 
and immolated local interest on the altar of peace and union ; — that, 
drawing wisdom from the experience of the past, and weighing the 
consequences of their actions on the future, they calmly and deliber- 
ately sacrificed temporary and transient views to the permanency of 
ancient friendship ; — that they transmitted unimpaired the constitu- 
tion of the United States, the palladium of their own and their coun- 
try's liberty, to their descendants, and deserved the name of the pre- 
servers and perpetuators of the peace, liberty and happiness, of these 
States, then and forever one — united — indivisible ! " 

Josiah, son of Josiah Quincy, was born at Boston, Jan. 17, 1802, in 
Pearl-street, nearly opposite the old Boston Athenasum. He was pre- 
pared for college at Phillips' Academy, Andover, and graduated at 
Harvard College in 1821, on which occasion he engaged in a discussion 
with Warren Burton, on the elegant literature of England and France. 
He read law with William Sullivan, became a counsellor-at-law, and 
married Mary Jane, daughter of Samuel R. Miller. He was lieuten- 
ant of the Boston Light Infantry, an aid-de-camp to Gov. Lincoln, and 
commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He 
was a member of the city Council in 1833, and its president in 1834 
to '87. He was a member and president of the Senate in 1842. He 
was elected mayor of Boston from 1845 to '49. Owing to his finan- 
cial skill in the direction of the Western Railroad enterprise, during 
twelve years of the most perilous period of its course, it had become 
one of the safest investments in the stock market ; was treasurer, also, 



JOSIAH QUINCY, JR. 497 

of the Vermont Central Railroad. His veto, as chairman of the Board 
of Aldermen, in May, 1847, on the exciting license question, redounds 
as greatly to his honor as the enterprise of Long Pond ; and elicited 
two famous songs, one of which was on " The Man that Dared Stand 
Alone," and the other beginning with, 

" God bless the Mayor's casting vote ! 
A thousand hearts exclaim." 

Mr. Quincy was elected treasurer of the Boston Athenseum in 1837, 
and retained the station for fifteen years. He deserves the reputation 
of having been the chief instrument in effecting the erection of the 
present splendid edifice of the institution, on its delightful location in 
Beacon-street, by the endorsement of his name to very great amounts, 
in times of pressure, and as chairman of the building committee. Thus 
this noble institution is as much under obligation to Josiah Quincy, Jr., 
for its present prosperity, as to William Smith Shaw for its origin. 

It is related of the Quincys, that on the day after the election of the 
junior to the presidency of the Senate, in 1842, a gentleman, meeting 
them in State-street, remarked that it was a singular circumstance 
there should be two presidents in the same family, at the same time; 
on which, President Quincy senior, breasting himself with dignity, 
replied, " There is a difference, however, in magnitude, as one star dif- 
fereth from another star." Whereat, President Quincy the junior 
archly remarked, "That is true enough, fiither ; for you are the presi- 
dent of boys, while I am the president of men." 

When the young men of Boston had a public festival in honor of 
Charles Dickens, Feb. 2, 1842, Mr. Quincy presided ; and, in allusion 
to the remark of the president of Harvard University, that it was a 
very good thing for a man to carry his toast in his pocket, lest his 
memory might fail, Mr. Quincy stated that he had so far acted upon 
that principle as to prepare a toast which he had hoped would draw a 
speech from Gov. Davis; but he unfortunately had kept it in his pocket 
too long, for the governor had retired. The toast was, " The Political 
Pilots of Old England and New England : Though their titles may be 
different, they observe the same luminaries in the literary, and steer 
by the same stars in the moral, horizon." The effective speech of Mr. 
Quincy on this occasion — a Welcome to Charles Dickens — appears 
in the Boston Book for 1850. 

When the telegraph wires were stretched from Boston to Salem, in 
42* 



498 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

December, 1847, and were in full operation, the following message was 
transmitted: "The mayor of the city of Salem sends his comphments 
to the mayor of the city of Boston, congratulating him on the completion 
of the new bond of union between the two cities." To which Mr. 
Quincy, with his usual felicity, made reply: "The mayor of Boston 
reciprocates the compliments of the mayor of Salem, and rejoices that 
letters of light connect the metropolis with the birth-place of Bow- 
ditch." This reminds one of a happy allusion, in a burning address 
of Horace Mann to his constituents, on the subject of slavery: " My 
words have been cool as the telegraphic wires, while my feelings have 
been like the lightning that runs through them." The junior Quincy 
is one of the rarest wits amongst us. He once remarked, with as much 
truth as humor, at a military festival, that it has been discovered that 
intemperate conviviality is not the only bond of miUtary union ; — that 
rum, mixed with gunpowder, is not the only means of inspiring cour- 
age ; and that men who ca7i stand alone are best fitted to stand bj 
one another. 

The fame of the Long Pond Water Works will ever be identified 
with the two Mayors Quincy, senior and junior. To Mayor Quincy 
the senior we yield the palm as being the first mayor who publicly 
advised and urged, in his inaugural address, January, 1826, the uni- 
versal introduction of water through all the streets, lanes and avenues, 
of the city, either from Charles or Neponset rivers. To Mayor Quincy 
the junior we yield the palm as being the leader who promptly effected 
the project ; and to Loammi Baldwin, an eminent engineer who died 
in June, 1838, we concede the reputation of originating the conception 
in 1827, and devising the enterprise, Oct. 1, 1834, of procuring the 
source of supply from Long Pond. The Union Water Convention of 
delegates from each ward in Boston, which held its first meeting at 
Tremont Temple, June 9, 1845, and elected Charles Allyn Wells, Esq., 
president, was the great moving cause of forwarding this enterprise, 
which was completed under Josiah Quincy, Jr. The act of the State 
for supplying the city of Boston with pure water from Long Pond was 
approved by Gov. Briggs, March 30, 1846. Is not the name of " Cochit- 
uate," on the city ordinance, a palpable misnomer, establishing a Water 
Board in December, 1849 ? This magnificent enterprise, completed at 
the expense of not less than five millions of dollars, transcends any 
other public work ever effected by the people of Boston. It has been 
felicitously said of the younger Quincy, that he has written his name 



JOSIAH QUINCYj JR. 499 

in water, yet it shall last forever. The imaginative vision of posterity 
shall see it written in letters of light, in the rainbows of the fountains. 
The people of Boston have never found him dry, and he has taken care 
they never shall be so. 

When Mr. Quincy attended a public festival in honor of the visiters 
at the industrial exhibition in Montreal, October, 1850, he remarked, 
in an effective speech at the table : " Where is civil liberty enjoyed in 
a higher degree than in this, or in that other British country, the other 
side of the Atlantic 7 There is one difference, though, that is not so 
very great an one as might at first sight appear. You — all of you 
— bow down to the sovereign Lady, collectively. We bow down to 
one sovereign lady, each for himself This is the only difference ; and 
I fear we cannot all say, as you can of your lady, that our sovereign 
lady is, as a wife and mother, an ornament and honor to her sex, the 
first in virtue, and the first in place." 

At the first celebration of the Cape Cod Association, in Boston, 
Nov. 11, 1851, a pleasant incident was elicited by the following toast : 
" The Elder and the Younger Quincy: 

While for the former. Time, with gentle hand, 

And all reluctant, slowly turns the sand, 

The latter shows some marks — we hope unfelt — 

Of early snows that summer will not melt. 

I ci-ave their pardon, but must ask, for one. 

How shall we know the father from the son ? ' ' 

This sentiment excited great merriment. Hon. Josiah Quincy 
junior rose, in the midst of the universal laughter, and cried out, 
"Gentlemen, I introduce to you my son, who sits on the right of the 
'chair.' " The venerable President Quincy then rose, was greeted 
■with cordial welcome, and proceeded to speak, with severity, of the dis- 
obedience of some sons. He was very happy in his remarks. He 
concluded by giving as a toast, " The Inhabitants of Cape Cod." 

Mr. Quincy, Jr., now responded to his half of the sentiment above 
given; and, among other things, said that he "was a wise child that 
knew his own father, and then gave : " The Sons of Cape Cod : May 
they always be better men than their fathers." 



500 THE HUNDRED BOSTON OKATORS. 

EDWARD GOLDSBOROUGH PRESCOTT. 

JULY 4, 1832. FOR THE BOSTON REGIxMENT. 

Was grandson of Hon. William Prescott, a leader in the Battle of 
Bunker Hill, whom Washington described as "Prescott the brave." 
It is related that when Gen. Warren came up to the works, a skort 
time before the action, on Bunker Hill, with a musket in his hand, Col. 
Prescott proposed to him that he should take the command, as he under- 
stood he had been appointed bj Congress to be major-general, the day 
previous. Warren replied, "I have no command here; I have not 
received my commission. I come as a volunteer, and shall be happy 
to learn service from a soldier of your experience." Daniel Webster 
says, "If there Avas any commander-in-chief in the field, it was Pres- 
cott." Frothingham's Siege of Boston is the most reliable statement 
extant of the scenes around the head-quarters of the great Amer- 
ican Revolution. The father of Edward was born at Pepperell, 
Aug. 19, 1762, and married Catharine G., daughter of Thomas Hick- 
ling, Esq., of the Island of St. Michael's, December, 1793. He was 
an Essex senator in 1805, of Gov. Gore's Council in 1809, judge 
of the Court of Common Pleas for Suffolk, and in 1820 a delegate of 
the convention for revising the State constitution. 

Young Edward was born in Salem, Mass., Jan. 2, 1804. His ele- 
mentary education was at Brighton, under the tuition of Jacob N. 
Knapp, a brother of the celebrated biographer and lawyer, who will 
ever be remembered as the teacher, also, of WiUiam Hickling, the most 
eminent American historian, a brother of Edward, whose researches in 
Spanish, Mexican and Peruvian annals, — the more attractive in a 
soul so remarkable for modesty and gentleness, — brighten the family 
escutcheon. He afterwards became a pupil of the Rev. Dr. Gardiner, 
a scholar of the school of Parr, who made his pupils men, as well as 
scholars. He was further prepared for Harvard College under INIaster 
Carter, of Lancaster ; and graduated at college in 1825, Avhen he 
engaged in the study of law under his venerated father, and soon 
became a counsellor at the Suffolk bar. He was naturally eloquent, 
acquitting himself fluently, and, from the force of his own convictions, 
impressively. When at that bar, he received frequent applications in 
eminent cases, as the counsel most likely to be effective, by his popular 



EDWARD GOLDSBOROUGH PRESCOTT. 501 

address, in the interests of the prisoner at the bar. He was a member 
of the Boston city Council from 1830 to 1835, and a representative to 
the State Legislature. Previous to 1832, he delivered an oration on 
our national birth-day. at Pepperell ; and in this year he was elected 
commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, and was 
the colonel of the Boston regiment. He was, for a period, editor of 
the New England Galaxy, originated by Mr. Buckingham, which he 
conducted with a fair and liberal spirit. The oration of Mr. Prescott, 
delivered for the city authorities of Boston, July 4, 1833, was pub- 
lished. 

Col. Prescott remarks, in the oration at the head of this outline, that 
"the whole field of our literature is left unexplored. Our previous 
situation, and the times themselves, have heretofore rendered this nec- 
essary. Our inhabitants, for a long period struggling for freedom, 
afterwards found themselves impoverished, and obliged to contend for 
existence. It was not until of late years that we have found leisure 
to become a literary nation, or the power to encourage native talent. 
Both are now ours, and a territory lies before us such as has never yet 
been wandered over, fraught, even in our brief history, with deeds of 
daring and endurance which far outstrip the bright coloring of fiction, 
and scenes of romantic and sublime interest which may challenge the 
world. These are the newly-opened quarries out of which native gen- 
ius has already begun to hew for itself immortahty ; and from which, 
such men as Irving, Cooper, Bryant, Percival, Sprague, and a host of 
others of our young countrymen, have drawn the materials of their early 
fame." 

In his earliest childhood, Mr. Prescott made it his chief delight, it 
is said, to enact the pastor. Seldom has it happened that a life has 
wandered further astray than his, — dissolute, perhaps, even as the 
immortal Col. Gardiner, — from this its earliest promise, to bring it 
out so clear, and full, and beautiful, at last. From the immediate 
centre of what the world calls pleasure, says Bishop Doane, with 
everything that could infatuate the heart and overwork the brain, — in 
professional success, in official station, in worldly prospect, — Mr. Pres- 
cott, by God's grace, escaped. Previous to taking holy orders, Mr. 
Prescott remarked to a friend, "I have served the devil long enough, 
and I will henceforth devote myself to God." He gave the whole 
power of his soul to divinity, prayer, and Christian effort ; and most 



502 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

firmly, from the pure love of his boy's heart, in the parish of St. John's, 
at Salem, N. J,, over -which, about the year 1836, he became the rec- 
tor, and ever sent out, towards the wide world from which he was res- 
cued, warm thoughts of joyful gratitude that he had escaped its snares. 
He was always anxious to show that he had taken this stand, and was 
to shrink, on no occasion, from avowing himself a true follower of the 
Cross. He was married by Bishop Doane, in St. John's Church, New 
Jersey, in the year 1835, to Miss Margaret J. Smith, of that parish. 
He loved the sanctuary and its worship. He would have lived in it. 
Its very nails and hinges had for him, says Doane, a sacredness. Our 
rector had devoted so much of his life to military ambition, that, long 
after he had entered the clerical profession, his mind would dwell upon 
it ; and one day, meeting an early military associate, at the Astor 
House, in New York city, who informed him that a military review was 
to take place up in the city, Mr. Prescott remarked he could not repress 
his desire to witness the scene, and they proceeded directly to the 
spot. 

The sermons of Mr. Prescott were of high ability and eloquence, 
and fruitful in doctrine and practical sentiment ; and should be rescued 
from oblivion, as their appearance to the public eye would advance the 
reputation of theological hterature, and extend the growth of piety in 
our republic. As a catechist for the youth of his parish, he was 
intensely devoted to the work, and displayed peculiar tact, endearing 
himself to the young lambs of the flock. At length, the slow decay 
which wasted his life brought him, as men say, to his death. On the 
8th of April, 1844, he took passage from Boston for the Azores 
Islands, hoping the restoration of his health. The pale cheek, that 
warmed itself into a smile of melancholy, is colder now than the salt 
wave that moans his lonely requiem. Prescott waits in the deep 
caves, a thousand fathoms down, until the sea shall yield her dead. 
The beautiful surplice, made for him by his dear mother, in which he 
ever gracefully ofiiciated, Mr. Prescott bequeathed to his closest friend, 
the Rev. Wilham Croswell, of Boston, who, on receiving it, remarked 
that it would be a suitable winding-sheet for himself; and, on his recent 
sudden decease, the surplice of Prescott enshrouded the remains of 
Croswell. What over-payment of a father's best exertions, of a 
mother's least reserving sacrifices, a ministry for souls like that of 
Edward Goldsborough Prescott ! 



EDWARD GOLDSBOROUGH PRESCOTT. 503 

ELEGIAC. 

[Written in a copy of Milton, presented by the late Rev. Edward G. Prescott, who died on his passage 

to the Azores, on the third day after his departure from Boston, on board the Harbinger, April 11, 1844.) 

"Eheu quantum minus est cum reliquis versari, quam tui meminisse." * 
Thy cherished gift, departed friend, 

With trembling I unfold, 
And fondly gaze upon its lids, 

In crimson wrought and gold : 
I open to its dirge-like strain 
On one who died at sea, — 
And as I read of Lycidas, 

I think the while on thee ! 
Thy languid spirit sought, in vain, 

The beautiful Azores, 
But, ere it reached the middle main, 

AVas wrapt to happier shores ; 
As in a dream-like halcyon calm, 

It entered on its rest. 
Amid the groves of Paradise, 
And islands of the blest, 
' Kind friends afar, at thy behest, 

Had fitted bower and hall. 
To entertain their kindred guest. 

In ever green Fayal : 
In greener bowers thy bed is made, 

And sounder is thy sleep. 
Than ever life had known among 
The chambers of the deep ! 
* No mark along the waste may tell 

The place of thy repose, 
But there is One who loved thee well, 

And loved by thee. Who knows ; 
And though now sunk, like Lycidas, 

Beneath the watery floor, 
Yet Tins great might who walked the waves 

Shall thy dear form restore. 
Though yeai's may first pass by, no time 

His purpose shall derange. 
And in His guardianship thy soul 

Shall suffer no sea-change ; 
And when the depths give up their charge, 

0, may our welcome be. 
With thine, among Christ's ransomed throngs. 
Where there is no more sea ! 

William Croswell. 
St. Peter's Parsonage, Adbckn, October, 1844. 

* •' Alas of how much less value it is to be conversant with such as remain than to recollect thee ! " 



504 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

ANDREW DUNLAP. 

JULY 4, 1832. FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

"Was born at Salem, Mass., Sept. 21, 1794, and was the only son 
of the late James Dunlap, a reputable merchant of that city, and a 
native of Ireland. He was a scholar of the famous Rev. Dr. Bentley, 
and from his earliest cliildhood was esteemed as a boy of brilliant parts. 
On leaving Harvard College, where he graduated in 1813, he entered 
on the study of law, under John Pitman, Esq., a counsellor of Salem, 
afterwards the U. S. District Judge for Rhode Island. On the com- 
pletion of his legal course, which he pursued with devotion, he was 
entered as an attorney in his native city. He soon became distin- 
guished for his eloquence and zeal in his profession. In 1819 Mr. 
Dunlap gave an oration for the young men of Salem, on the fourth of 
July, which excited great admiration, and was the occasion of flattering 
letters to the young orator, from the early Presidents Adams and Jeffer- 
son. He removed to Boston in the next year, where he married Lucy 
Ann Charlotte Augusta, daughter of Samuel Fales, Esq., merchant of 
Boston. Here his efiective eloquence made him a popular advocate, 
especially in criminal cases, and opened to him a wide field of profes- 
sional practice. He delivered orations in 1822 and in 1832, in Boston, 
on our national birth-day. He was warmly attached to the Demo- 
cratic party, and became a favorite speaker at their political meetings ; 
and was an early advocate of the election of Andrew Jackson to the 
presidency, and was friendly to his administration to the day of his 
death. In 1827 Mr. Dunlap was elected as a representative for 
Boston, and was defeated the same year in a contest for the State 
Senate. 

Mr. Dunlap was appointed, in March, 1829, the Attorney of the 
United States for the District of Massachusetts. The important duties 
of this office he discharged until within a short period of his decease, 
with professional courtesy most winning towards the bar and the 
bench, with generosity unrivalled towards prisoners, and with clear- 
ness and fidelity to his station. That he was tenacious for his political 
principles was ever obvious : he gave the following sentiment at a 
pubhc festival, July 4, 1829 : " The Ebony and Topaz of the Political 
World : The aristocracy who pretend that they alone are qualified for 



ANDREW DUNLAP. 505 

superior stations, and the common people destined to labor — for tlie 
liberties of mankind." He resigned the station a few months previous 
to his decease, feeling admonished, by the disease which eventually 
terminated his existence, and was then casting its shadows over his 
path, to retire from active labor, and not choosing '-to lag superflu- 
ous " in his office when the power of fully sustaining its burdens no 
longer remained. His resignation drew from Hon. Joseph Story, and 
also from Hon. Judge Davis, testimonials expressive of their affec- 
tionate personal regard, and of their decided approbation of his official 
conduct. The hope was indulged by his friends that a tour to the 
south would restore his health ; but it proved unavailing, or only pro- 
tracted, for a short period, the hour of his final departure. He 
returvx'ed from Wa.Aington, whither he had gone, to his native town, 
where he died in the bosom of his fiimily connections, July 27, 1835. 
One of his last sentiments — uttered at that period when the mind 
looks with clearness through all the events of life, even though the eye 
of the countenance be dim — is worthy of remembrance, says Charles 
Sumner, who prepared and edited the Treatise on the Practice of 
Courts of Admiralty in Civil Cases of Maritime Jurisdiction, pub- 
lished in 1836, — a work which would perpetuate his memory, though 
his eloquence and patriotic fervor were unknown. He said, that one 
of his happiest reflections, at that moment, was, that, in the whole 
course of his professional life, he had never pressed hard upon any 
man. He was, indeed, a man of generous impulses. All his feelings 
were strong, and were the great source of his eloquence. What he 
did was the act of his whole heart. And no man's heart beat quicker 
than his, at the call of patriotism or philanthropy. We are quoting 
Sumner, mostly. He was fearless in his conduct, kind towards his 
inferiors, and amiable towards all around him. His public addresses 
were in a style vigorous, warm, and often impassioned, like his whole 
character. In the responsible duties of a wide practice, he was inva- 
luably prompt, conciliatory and honorable, as he was able, learned, and 
indefatigable. His arguments to the court and jury often attested, not 
only a large acquaintance with the books of his profession, but, also, 
with those of literature and general knowledge. Some of them are 
preserved in the Reports of the Circuit Court of the United States for 
the First Circuit, and in those of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. 
Mr. Dunlap, in his defence of Abner Kneeland, who was charged with 
the crime of blasphemy, advanced a manly exposition of the rights 
43 



506 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of conscience, which will be read with intei-est long after the excitement 
of the trial shall be forgotten. May the scourge of infidelity ever be 
averted from this republic ! 

In the oration of Andrew Dunlap, at the head of this outline, writ- 
ten in a style of great eloquence, we find a passage breathing the true 
spirit of the Revolution, in a manly tone : " The purity of the char- 
acter of the American Revolution sheds lustre on its history. It was 
a contest, not of ambition, but of principle. Those who shone in the 
council and gained laurels in the field were not pursuing the shadow of 
false glory. Their sole desire was to secure the freedom of their 
country. They knew that the conflict would be arduous, exhaust the 
resources and shed the blood of an infant people. With the courage of 
heroes they united the mild virtues of philosophers and philanthropists, 
and never appealed to arms till the measure of injuries was full, till 
all hope of redress vanished, and the only alternative left was that 
before of Brutus and the Romans, — to live freemen, or die slaves. 
If there ever Avas a people under the sun Avho were armed in honesty, 
and could with sincerity appeal to Heaven for the sublime purity of 
their motives and purposes, it was the people of America bursting the 
ties Avhich had united them for more than a century to Great Britain. 

" The AYorld acknowledged the justice of our cause. France and 
Holland became our friends, and the great Frederick of Prussia left 
on record, in his works, a condemnation of the wickedness and madness 
of the British government. After the loss of thirteen provinces, a 
hundred thousand of the lives of his subjects, and a hundred millions 
of their treasure, the British monarch was compelled to acknowledge 
American independence. Many of the most inveterate enemies of 
America became convinced of their errors. Even the celebrated Gen- 
eral Burgoyne recanted his political heresies, and confessed, in the 
House of Commons, that the principle of the American war was wrong. 
Yet this convert had been one of our most violent persecutors. He 
had, to use his own language, thrown himself at his majesty's feet, 
and solicited the honor of crushing those wilful outcasts, the Amer- 
ican rebels, to whom he afterwards surrendered, at Saratoga. It was 
this general who denounced upon our country devastation, famine, 
and every concomitant horror, and threatened to let slip those dogs of 
war, his savage auxiharies, the employment of whom the great friend 
to America called in vain upon the lords bishops to oppose with the 
sanctity of their lawn, and whose merciless aid had been secured at a 



JOHN WADE. 507 

war-feast, where, as an eminent English historian relates, the king's 
minister-plenipotentiary to the poor Indians was invited to banquet 
upon a Bostonian, and to drink his blood. The violators of our rights 
at length received the punishment of their transgressions. It was the 
last wish of Lord Chatham that the vengeance of the nation might 
fall heavy upon the ministry. It was the hope of Mr. Fox that they 
might be sent into ignominious retirement, with the curses of their 
country upon their heads. That wish was accomplished, that hope 
was realized. The malediction of the country followed them, and 
the reprobation of posterity will forever rest upon their memories. Is 
it not a subject of the proudest reflection, that our country was right, 
as well as successful ; and that the American Revolution as much 
deserves admiration for the lustre of its political virtue, as the bril- 
liance of its military triumphs'? " 

Andrew Dunlap, beside being the legal pleader of government, was, 
as we have seen, the rhetorical advocate of measures devised by the 
managers of party political machinery : indeed, he was the most pop- 
ular orator of the Democracy. At the public dinner in Faneuil Hall, 
of which he once said that the soul of our ancestry ever filled the con 
secrated spot, Mr. Dunlap gave this characteristic sentiment: "The 
Republican Party: By maintaining the purity of their principles, they 
maintain the rights of the people ; by preserving union in their ranks, 
they preserve the union of the States." 



JOHN WADE. 

JULY 4, 1833. FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

Was son of Col. John Wade, and born at Woburn, September, 
1808. He was early educated at Lexington Academy ; graduated at 
Amherst College in 1830 ; and was one year a student at the Law 
School, in Cambridge. He read law two years under Bradford Sum- 
ner, Esq., of Boston; was an attorney of the Court of Common Pleas 
in 1833 ; and married Ann Ehzabeth Warfield, of Baltimore, where 
he finally settled. The oration of Mr. Wade was published in the 
Boston Daily Post, shortly after its delivery. He died in Baltimore, 
Oct. 22, 1851. 



508 THE HUNDBED BOSTON ORATORS. 

AMASA WALKER. 

JULY 4, 1833. FOR THE YOUNG MEN'S SOCIETIES OF BOSTON. 

Was born at Woodstock, Conn., May 4, 1799. His father removed, 
in the year 1800, to that part of Brookfield since incorporated as North 
Brookfield. He was early educated in the pubhc school, and partly 
fitted for college under the tuition of Rev. Dr. Snell. Among his 
felloAY-students at this period Avere the late Dr. Mead, of New York, 
Judge Cheever, of Albany, and William Cullen Bryant, the poet. Ill 
health compelled him to withdraw from mental studies ; and, at the age 
of fifteen, he was employed in the store of Col. Charles Henshaw, at 
North Brookfield. When of age, he entered in partnership with the 
late Allen Newhall, Esq., at West Brookfield, with whom he continued 
during a period of more than two years. In the days of his minority 
he had saved the amount of one hundred and thirty-six dollars, which 
was his capital for business. His father aided him with a few hundreds 
more, and his net profits there were soon twenty-five hundred dollars. 
In 1823 he removed to Methuen, and became an agent to the Methuen 
Manufacturing Company, at a salary of only six hundred dollars ; but, 
previous to his withdrawal, it is said, the company made him the 
offer of twice that sum, which he declined. While here, Mr. Walker 
originated a literary society, in connection with the late Timothy 
Claxton, which afterwards erected what is known as Lyceum Hall. In 
the year 1825 he became a commission-merchant at Boston, in South 
Market-street, and engaged in the wholesale shoe business, which he 
continued until 1840, when, owing to ill health, he sold his stock to 
Messrs. Emerson, Harris & Potter, his former partners. Mr. Walker 
was one of the first in his line of business to open a trade with the 
western part of our country, in the extension of which he aided largely 
in our metropolis. 

While a citizen of Boston, Mr. Walker was actively engaged in 
originating and sustaining the Boston Lyceum, in 1829, which com- 
menced its operations in Chauncey-place Hall. It increased in mem- 
bers and popularity, until even the Tremont Temple did not afford 
suitable room for those who desired tickets. Mr. Walker was its first 
secretary, and was author of its first report ; afterwards its president, 
and, during nearly fourteen years, one of the board of managers. 
This was the first institution of that character in New England, except- 



AMASA WALKER. 509 

ing one said to have been established at Worcester, in 1825 ; and was 
the first society of young men in Boston that admitted ladies to its 
lectures. Vigorous efforts were required in its operations, and to have 
it properly conducted, during the earliest period of its existence; 
and the eagle eye of Mr, Walker watched its course with jealous care. 
Shortly after his removal from Boston, the institution was dissolved, 
giving way to the Mercantile Library Association, and other popular 
kindred institutions. 

Mr. Walker was one of the earliest advocates of the establishment 
of that glory of New England, the Western Railroad ; and wrote and 
spoke warmly in advocacy of the measure, then deemed visionary. He 
was energetic in efforts to obtain subscribers to the stock ; was one of 
the directors, for three years, on the part of the stockholders ; and, in 
1840, was a director on the part of the State. 

He was, at an early period after he came to Boston, actively engaged 
in political life, and was often nominated for city and State offices. In 
1837 he was a candidate for Congress, in opposition to Hon. Richard 
Fletcher, and received the entire support of the Democratic party in 
that canvass. He was nominated, also, for the office of mayor by the 
same party. Mr. Walker has ever been an advocate of immediate 
emancipation, and Avas for many years connected with the Massachu- 
setts Anti-slavery Society. In 1848 he was elected, by the Free Soil 
party of North Brookfield, a State representative. In 1849 he was 
elected to the State Senate by the coalition of the Democratic and Free 
Soil parties. In 1850 he was the Free Soil candidate for lieutenant- 
governor ; and, in October of the same year, he was president of their 
convention, held at Worcester. In 1851 Mr. Walker was elected Sec- 
retary of State, by the Legislature. He has been devoted to the 
temperance cause, taking the lead in numerous meetings and conven- 
tions. He was president of the first total abstinence society ever 
formed in Boston ; and few persons, not employed in public lectures, 
have endured more laborious efforts than the subject of this memoir. 

Arduous as have been the mercantile pursuits of Mr. Walker during 
the greater part of his life, a taste for literature has been cultivated, 
and every leisure moment has been devoted to mental improvement, 
especially acquiring a familiarity with the French language and scien- 
tific knowledge. Having turned his attention, for many years, to the 
careful study of political economy, he received, on his retirement from 
mercantile life, an appointment as professor of that science in the col- 
43* 



510 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

lege at Oberlin. He removed thither, in 1842, with his family, and 
remained there until the next year ; when, his health being impaired, 
he returned to the old homestead, in North Brookfield, — his parents 
having deceased, — and became president of the lyceum in that town. 
Mr. Walker early married Emily, a daughter of Dea. Jonathan Carle- 
ton ; and, at her decease, he married Hannah, a daughter of Stephen 
Ambrose, Esq., of Concord, N. H. 

After his return from Oberlin, having been appointed a delegate to 
the first International Peace Convention, in London, Mr. Walker 
embarked for England, and attended the sessions of that assembly, 
when he was elected one of its vice-presidents. A committee of five 
gentlemen was appointed to bear a memorial to Louis Philippe, King 
of France, on the subject of arbitration between nations. Mr. Walker 
was of this committee, and visited Paris with his colleagues. Louis 
Philippe was then at the zenith of his power, and gave the delegates a 
A'cry gratifying reception, in his palace, at Neuilly. After this, Mr. 
Walker returned to England, and spent some time in travelling over 
that country, and in Scotland, L'eland, and Wales. Li October of that 
year, he left England. In -ISIQ he again visited Europe, as a delegate 
to the Peace Congress, at Paris. In that Congress he took an active part, 
and was one of its officers. After the adjournment of the Congress, 
he travelled through Belgium into Germany, and up the Rhine as far 
as Frankfort on the Maine, and thence to England. Here, in company 
with Elihu Burritt, he travelled, attending various peace-meetings ; 
and visited Scotland, also, for the same purpose. For the last few 
years, Mr. Walker has devoted his time chiefly, in connection with Mr. 
Burritt, to the peace movement ; and has discharged the duties of cor- 
responding secretary of the League of Human Brotherhood, of which 
Mr. Burritt was president. 

If Mr. Walker has ever been distinguished for one purpose more 
than another, it has been for his bold and uncompromising advocacy of 
unpopular reforms, when few had the courage or disposition to attempt 
it. As an illustration of this, we might mention his vigorous oppo- 
sition to the popular doctrine, in 1840, that "a national bank was 
necessary to regulate exchanges." This opinion — then almost uni- 
versally supported by the mercantile community — Mr, Walker com- 
bated in the most decided manner ; and so deep was the impression 
he made on the audiences he addressed, that it is said his services were 
in so great request, that he had on hand, at one time, nearly a hundred 



AM AS A WALKER. 511 

applications, from as many towns in Ne^Y England, to lecture on the 
currency. At no period in his life did he encounter greater obloquy 
than that while opposing the renewal of the national bank. Although 
Mr. "Walker resided at Oberlin but one year, he continued his connec- 
tion with the college for nearly six years, giving an annual course of 
lectures, which were received Avith intense interest by the students, 
and which are understood to be in a course of preparation for the press. 
At the late commencement of Middlebury College, Mr. Walker received 
the honorary degree of Master of Arts. However much conflicting 
parties may differ from Mr. Walker on points of political and moral 
reform, we cannot withhold the tribute of admiration at his persevering 
energy in mercantile pursuits, and untiring vigor in public political 
life. 

The oration at the head of this article was delivered in the presence 
of twelve societies of young men, of one of which, the Boston Lyceum, 
Mr. Walker was the President ; and three hundred and seventy mem- 
bers of these institutions were in the procession, to listen to its delivery, 
with suitable banners. The names of these societies we perpetuate, for 
the honor of our city: The Young Men's Marine Bible Society; Bos- 
ton Young Men's Society ; Young IMen's Association for the Promo- 
tion of Literature and Science : The Franklin Debating Society ; 
Laboring Young Men's Temperance Society; Lyceum Elocution and 
Debating Society ; Mercantile Library Association ; Mechanic Appren- 
tices Library Association, and the Boston Lj^ceum. 

It was said of this oration in the Daily Advocate, edited by Benj. 
F. Hallett, that ■' it was admirably fitted to excite a spirit of emulation 
in moral and mental improvement in young men. It was sound, sensi- 
ble, instructive and eloquent, in appeals to the best feelings of our 
nature," and excited repeated bursts of applause from the audience. 
We would single the forthcoming as a fair specimen of the general 
spirit of this performance. 

"The influence of associations like ours," says Mr. Walker, 
"formed upon popular principles, is peculiarly calculated to obht- 
erate those distinctions of caste which exist in all communities ; and, 
unless common fame be a great liar, are found especially in Boston. 
The advantages these societies afford to young men of all classes to 
elevate their condition are so great, that, if properly improved, there 
cannot long be those marked distinctions which have hitherto prevailed, 
operating as a barrier to general improvement, and as the bane of social 



512 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

intercourse. This tendency is a truly republican one, and is a matter 
of just complacency. The greater and the more perfect the commu- 
nity of interest and equality of condition that exist among any people, 
the more secure the enjoyment of equal rights and equal liberties. No 
one class can oppress the rest, unless possessed of superior power and 
advantages. If no one possesses this preeminence, all are safe. The 
proposition is a plain one. We will only further remark, in relation 
to this, that any approximation towards aristocratic distinctions in 
society is to be deprecated, as both unbecoming and injurious. 

" We are not of the number of those who delight in raising spectres 
of ruin. We have little feeling in common with such as indulge in 
gloomy forebodings, and utter melancholy predictions, concerning the 
future destiny of our beloved country. We would rather inspire in 
the public mind a well-grounded confidence in the stability of our free 
institutions, and a firm assurance of their ultimate perfection. Our 
views do not harmonize with those who, in the prospective of our coun- 
try's fortunes, perceive the certain indications of decay and death ; 
— quite the reverse. A glorious and enchanting prospect opens on our 
eyes, as we cast them down the vista of the future ; and, although we 
well know that not only the liberty and happiness of a great nation, 
but of the world, are suspended on this first grand experiment of self- 
government, we feel that they are safe. As a nation, we are fast rising 
in the scale of morals ; intelligence is every day becoming more widely 
diffused ; and the spirit of improvement, in all that contributes to the per- 
fection of human society, is abroad in vigorous and efficient action. We 
are aware, indeed, that the glorious work is only begun, but we antici- 
pate its final and triumphant completion with all the assurance of a per- 
fect faith. We would engage in it, not Avith the excitement of fear, 
but with the stimulus of hope. We know there are many who will 
differ from us in this view we take of our country's prospects. They 
fancy they clearly perceive, in the bitter animosities of party strife, and 
the unblushing depravity of party leaders, sure and fatal indications of 
the corruption and premature dissolution of our republican government. 
It is undoubtedly true that there never existed, at any previous period 
of our country's history, so much political intrigue and party manage- 
ment as at the present time. Men are bought and sold, assigned and 
transferred, with surprising convenience and facihty, while political 
somersets are but the diversions of the day. 

" The science of party tactics has arrived at a high degree of per- 



CALEB GUSHING. 513 

fection ; and, under the direction of those able professors, which are 
found in all political parties, the beauties and advantages of the system 
certainly bid fair to be very fully developed. Now, it may be asked, 
is there not great danger in all this 7 If there were no counteracting 
influence, — if there were no check to these evils, no power sufficient 
to correct these abuses, — they would probably eventually corrupt our 
government, and overturn our hberties. Fortunately, there is a power 
which can say to the angry surges of profligacy, ' Hitherto shall ye 
come, and no further.' That power is the elective franchise, which a 
virtuous and intelligent people can wield with irresistible energy and 
effect,— which they will thus wield, whenever they feel the practical 
evils of such abuses. Hitherto, the people have never realized the 
effect of the mischief, — consequently have never been incited to action. 
They have, indeed, seen the despicable game of party shuffling, — they 
have witnessed the paltry scramble for office, — but they have not felt 
their own liberties endangered by all this. The great and important 
interests of the nation have not been sacrificed ; therefore the people 
have not been aroused; — but let these abuses become more flagrant, — 
let them encroach directly on the rights of the community, — and the 
people will awake, and at a blow crush the heartless monster of unprin- 
cipled ambition. They will then feel the necessity of adopting the 
principle that moral integrity is an indispensable qualification for 
office, and will cease to bestow their suffrage on the candidate of a party, 
without regard to private character. The time will come, we trust 
soon, when those who have trampled on the laAVS will not be thought 
best qualified to sustain the laws, — when those who have insulted the 
moral sense of the community will not be thought the safest guardians 
of public virtue." 



CALEB GUSHING. 

JULY 4, 1833. FOR THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

Was born at Salisbury, Mass., Jan. 7, 1800, and was son of Capt. 
John Newmarch Gushing, an enterprising ship-owner of that town. 
He was fitted for college at the public school ; graduated at Harvard 
College in 1817, when he gave the salutatory oration, and was of the law 
school in 1818 ; was the poet for the Phi Beta Kappa Society in 1819. 



514 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

AVhen a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts, he delivered an 
oration on the durabihty of the Federal Union ; and, in 1819, was 
appointed a tutor in mathematics and natural philosophy in Harvard 
College, -which station he occupied until July 13, 1821, when he deliv- 
ered a truly pertinent farewell address, which had a strong tendency 
to enkindle a decided spirit of ambition in the minds of the youthful 
sons of Harvard. He remarks to the students : " Whatever profession 
you may severally choose, it will be your happiness to know, and con- 
tribute to prove, that, in this country, at least, every man is the arti- 
ficer of his own good or ill fortune ; since neither can any one -appeal 
to the possession of rank as a substitute for personal worth, nor to the 
absence of it as impeding him in the pursuit of honor. Should any 
want of prosperity be our lot, in the plans of future usefulness which 
we may have formed, we ought to reproach ourselves alone for the 
failure, saying, with the Roman patriot : 

' Men, at some time, are masters of their fates ; 
Tlie fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, 
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.' 

" You can decide whether fortune shall be in your hands, or you in 
hers, — Avhether you shall be driven onward upon the tide of time, 
unheeded or unheeding, or Avhether you shall not rather sail over its 
waters in the security and pride of conscious mastery over the wind 
and the wave." 

He entered on the study of law under Ebenezer Moseley, Esq. ; and, 
on the celebration of our national birth-day, in 1821, Mr. Gushing 
delivered an oration for the Debating Club of his adopted town, in 
which he said: "As the grandest invention ever yet bestowed upon 
the human race is that of political societies, so there is a grander still 
which remains ; and that is a Federal Union, embracing within its 
ample jurisdiction all the civilized nations of the globe." In 1822 he 
was an entered attorney in the courts of Essex county, and gave a 4th 
of July oration for the Light Inflintry Company of NoAvburyport. In 
1825 he was elected a State representative; and in the next year he 
was seated in the State Senate, and published a History of Newbury- 
port. He came out this year, also, with a treatise on the Practical 
Pri;iciples of Political Economy. He had previously translated a work 
from the French on Maritime Contracts for Letting to Hire. He pro- 
nounced a eulogy on Jefferson and Adams, in Newburyport, at this 
period, where he pursued the successful practice of the law until 1829. 



CALEB GUSHING. 515 

He married Caroline Elizabeth, daughter of Hon. Judge \Yilde, of 
Boston, Nov. 23, 1824. 

When but twentj-six years of age, Mr. Gushing was a candidate for 
Essex district to the House of Congress ; and was accused of recom- 
mending himself in the Boston Patriot, October 14, 1826, as a suit- 
able incumbent, which he indignantly disavowed, in an eloquent 
defence, published on the last day of that month. He remarks : "It 
has been said, if the author was my friend, he would put me in the 
way of knowing him, or of exculpating myself, — but the assertion is 
altogether gratuitous. Junius was friendly to Burke, and j'et he 
would not incur the risk of exposing himself, even to clear his friend 
from an injurious suspicion. The shafts of calumny were assailing the 
greatest and the best, and should I murmur if they chanced to descend 
upon my humbler head ? The Father of his Country was compelled to 
mourn in bitterness of spirit, that, after all his toils and services, he 
was libelled in language fit only to be applied to a vulgar pickpocket. 
Have notour seniors beheld Hamilton accused of robbing the treasury? 
Sullivan, of cheating a poor man in an ordinary bargain 7 and JeiTerson. 
of being a common defaulter 'I Nay ; scarce two years have gone by, 
since, just before an election, the highest man in this nation was sued 
on a charge of petty fraud." So powerful was the prejudice on the 
public mind, in this accusation, that our young candidate was not 
elected. 

Were it not for this disappointment, it is highly probable that the 
Hterary world would never have been favored with three valuable pro- 
ductions, which were the result of the tour over Europe with his 
accomplished wife, from 1829 to 1832, shortly after this untoward mis- 
fortune. In 1832 was published Letters Descriptive of Public Mon- 
uments, Scenery and Manners, in France and Spain, written by his 
wife, in two volumes, which convey a highly decided conception of her 
intellectual and moral powers. In the same year, Mr. Cushing pub- 
lished his Reminiscences of Spain, — the Country, its People, History 
and Monuments, — in two volumes. He came out, this year, also, with 
a Review, Historical and Political, of the late Revolution in France, 
and the Consequent Events in Belgium, Poland, Great Britain, and 
Other Parts of Europe, — in two volumes. In this year, moreover, he 
pronounced his admirable oration at Newburyport. In 1834 Mr. 
Cushing addressed the American Institute of Instruction ; and gave, 
also, a eulogy on Laflxyette, for the young men of Dover, N. H., and 
a reply to Cooper, the novelist. 



516 THE HUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

After such striking evidence of mental power and perseverance, Mr. 
Gushing rose above the shafts of calumny, and was elected, in 1833 
and 1834, by the town of Newburyport, to the State Legislature, 
when he acquired great fame by his speech on the currency and public 
deposits, which was published. Having thus prepared the way to 
pubhc regard, Mr. Gushing again threw the gauntlet for a seat in 
Gongress, and was elected by Essex district in 1835, which station he 
occupied until 1843. While in Congress, his hterary pursuits ran 
parallel with his interest in national politics ; for we find him a fre- 
quent contributor to the North American Review, in his tasteful arti- 
cles on the legal and social condition of women, and a review of 
"Boccaccio." The history of his country is familiar to his mind as 
household breathings, as his articles on Columbus and Amerigo Ves- 
pucci clearly indicate. Mr. Gushing gave an oration before the literary 
societies of Amherst College, Aug. 23, 1836, on the subject of popular 
eloquence, and its power in our republic. We Avish, said a reviewer, 
that one in a hundred of the orations w^hich come upon us by the 
thousand, were a hundredth part as good. His style as a writer, like 
his manner as a speaker, has been, generally, too formal, and moves 
with a stately, buskined tread. His elements were taken too freely 
from the Latin part of our vernacular tongue, to the neglect of the 
pithiest and raciest w^ords and sayings which grow upon the old Saxon 
stock. 

In the oration at the head of this outline, Mr. Gushing remarks that 
the Colonization Society utterly disavows any sentiment or design of 
ill will towards the colored citizens of the United States. " Our pur- 
poses in respect of them are dictated by benevolent consideration for 
their welfare. We may, it is true, be mistaken in the means we adopt 
for their intended good, — all means are liable to err ; but, if we err in 
this matter, it is an error of the head, not the heart. And, for myself, 
I profess that the emigration from among us of all the colored inhab- 
itants of the country would, in my opinion, occasion a chasm in the 
various walks of industry, which I am at a loss to see how we should 
supply ; and, therefore, I am not prepared to admit that their removal 
would be for our interest. At the same time, I cannot sympathize in 
any partial scheme of alleged philanthropy, which, out of anxiety for 
the welfare of the blacks, would totally disregard that of the whites ; I 
cannot desire to see my country plunged into the horrors of a servile 
insurrection, or of civil war ; nor can I abstain from raising my voice 



CALEB GUSHING. 517 

against measures Tvliich, in my apprehension, sap the very foundation 
of the Union." 

Mr. Gushing gave another oration at Springfield, July 4, 1839, on 
the material growth and territorial progress of our country. The 
acquisition of Louisiana was obtained by a flagrant violation of the con- 
stitution, language sanctioned by the great Jefferson himself One 
object of our orator was to repress an undue ambition to widen our 
national bounds. He moreover pronounced, this year, for the Phi 
Beta Kappa Society, at Cambridge, an oration on the errors of popular 
reformers, in which he displayed great ability, and a ready rhetorical 
power. 

Mr. Gushing has ever had the reputation of great ambition. Would 
that all men of talent among us had the nerve of Galeb Gushing ; and, 
instead of burrowing unknown, would elevate themselves in elevating 
the standard of the public welfare ! " I am also accused of youth and 
ambition," says he, when his motives were impugned. "As for the 
heinous fault of not being an old man, I may say, with Ghatham in 
his youth, that I hope time will mend it, and that the charge comes 
with ill grace from some, to whom .age has arrived, without wisdom. 
But, in seriousness, it is needless to be wiser than the constitution. 
And I am yet to be informed what there is culpable in a pure and 
single-hearted ambition, with a willingness, when called, to enter the 
career of public service, which the republican institutions of our happy 
country open to all its citizens, — to the low alike with the lofty." We 
remember the remark of a lady of his adopted town, who, on seeing 
John Quincy Adams and Galeb Gushing Avalking together, on Penn- 
sylvania Avenue, at the capital, said she felt proud for her native 
State, that it had such men ; and this reminds us of the felicitous 
epigram from the pen of Hannah F. Gould, another lady of Newbury- 
port, and somewhat eminent in poetry, that, even though he were under 
ground, he would still be pushing ; and a pohtical opponent also said 
of him that there was no fear "he would ever use any other than 
means worthy of his elevated character to push himself to those dis- 
tinctions which would be the certain meed of his abilities, if his politics 
were of a more popular cast." As the epigram of Miss Gould, and the 
gallant reply of Galeb Gushing, are ever in request, we here insert 

them both : 

" Lay aside all ye dead, 

For in the next bed 

Reposes the body of Gushing ; 

44 



518 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 



The response 



He has crowded his way 
Through the world, as they say, 
And, even though dead, will be pushing." 

" Here lies one whose wit. 

Without wounding, could hit, — 
And green grows the grass that 's above her ; . 

Having sent every beau 

To the regions below. 
She has gone down herself for a lover. ' ' 

The most effective display made on the floor of Congress, by Caleb 
Cusliing, was in the winter session of 1836, when Benjamin Hardin, of 
Kentucky, the carving-knife of John Randolph, "whetted on a brick- 
bat," attacked the character of the New Englanders, and attributed to 
them, in all their acts, grovelling and mercenary motives. Hardin was 
a most provoking and annoying enemy, — with his deformed finger, 
crooked like an audacious note of interrogation, his livid face peering, 
with a sneering expression, into that of his adversary, — a seeming arro- 
gant tone of voice, — his left hand thrust, country lawyer like, with 
due elegance and grace, into his breeches pocket ; — altogether, he was 
enough to worry the most resigned ; and, had Job been afflicted with 
a speech from Ben Hardin, of Kentucky, he would have bounced, like 
a parched pea, from his stabular mound, seized upon the adjacent pitch- 
fork, and scattered death and destruction around him. He aimed at 
cod-fishery, wooden nutmegs, and tin-peddling; and said that Caleb 
Cusliing came from a section of country where the people could see a 
dollar Avith the naked eye as far as through a telescope. Mr. Cushing 
replied to this philippic in a calm and dignified speech. He reviewed 
the history of New England, proved her sons the worthy descendants 
of the sturdy old Plymouth Pilgrims, and Avove a masterly defence, of 
great strength and beauty, that even silenced the heretofore unabashed 
Kentuckian. That debate gave rise, in part, to an excellent article in 
the North American Review, entitled Misconceptions of the New 
England Character, ascribed to his hand. 

Mr. Cushing was never found slumbering at his desk. His voice was 
often resounding in vindication of important national interests. His 
speeches were vigorous and effective. The land distribution, right of 
petition on slavery, executive usurpation, claims on Oregon, expenses 
of the Indian department, were right manfully discussed. In Con- 
gress, he Avas seated on the left of the speaker. His person is of the 



CALEB CUSniNG. 519 

common height, and well-proportioned ; his face intellectual and hand- 
some ; his eye quick and piercing. He has somewhat the rounding 
shoulders of a student. He shines in polite literature, as he does in 
polite society. As a public debater he ranks high, and has been one 
of the most efficient actors of the Whig and Democratic parties. His 
manner was calm and subdued. He seemed to have studied his mode 
of address ; and, if anything, was rather formal. His voice was gut- 
tural, and, in attempting to attain a proper level, he reduced his tones 
to too low a scale ; and when he was up, it struck the spectator that he 
was listening to a public lecturer, rather than an eloquent statesman 
pouring forth his thoughts to an American Congress. At a much later 
period, Mr. Gushing has been disencumbered of these defects. What- 
ever Gushing said was characterized by purity of style and depth of 
reflection. On all subjects he applied himself with diligence, and his 
extensive learning enabled him to speak sensibly and effectively on all 
topics in Avhicli he engaged. 

In 1840, Mr. Gushing became the avowed champion for Harrison, 
and wrote an outline of the life and services — civil and military — of 
that eminent man, urging his elevation to the presidency. This tract 
was showered all over the land. On the decease of Harrison, Mr. 
Gushing openly espoused the measures of President Tyler, by whom 
he was nominated three times as Secretary of the Treasury, and was 
rejected by the Senate. In July, 1843, he was appointed the com- 
missioner to Ghina for the United States. President Tyler addressed 
the following letter to the emperor, written by Daniel Webster, then 
the Secretary of State : 

Letter to the Emperor of China, from the President of the United Slates of America. 

" I, John Tyler, President of the United States of America, which 
States are (here follow all the names, closing with Michigan), send you 
this letter of peace and friendship, signed by my own hand. 

"I hope your health is good. Ghina is a great empire, extending 
over a great part of the world. The Ghinese are numerous. You 
have millions and millions of subjects. The twenty-six United States 
are as large as Ghina, though our people are not so numerous. The 
rising sun looks upon the great mountains and rivers of Ghina. When 
he sets, he looks upon rivers and mountains equally large in the United 
States. Our territories extend from one great ocean to the other; and 
on the west we are divided from your dominions only by the sea. Leav- 



520 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

ing the moutli of one of our great rivers, and going constantly towards 
the setting sun, we sail to Japan and to the Yellow Sea. 

"Now, my words are, that the governments of two such grand 
countries should be at peace. It is proper, and according to the will 
of Heaven, that they should respect each other, and act wisely. I, 
therefore, send to your court Caleb Gushing, one of the wise and 
learned men of this country. On his first arrival in China he will 
inquire for your health. He has strict orders to go to your great city 
of Peking, and there to deliver this letter. He will have with him 
secretaries and interpreters. 

"The Chinese love to trade with our people, and to sell them tea 
and silk, for which our people pay silver, and sometimes other articles. 
But, if the Chinese and the Americans will trade, there shall be rules, 
so that they shall not break your laws or our laws. Our minister, 
Caleb Cushing, is authorized to make a treaty to regulate trade. Let 
it be just. Let there be no unfair advantage on either side. Let the 
people trade, not only at Canton, but also at Amoy, Ningpo, Shangan, 
Fuhchang, and all such other places as may offer profitable exchanges, 
both to China and the United States, provided they do not break your 
laws nor our laws. We shall not take the part of evil-doers. We 
shall not uphold them that break your laws. Therefore, we doubt not 
that you will be pleased that our messenger of peace, with this letter 
in his hand, shall come to Peking, and there deliver it ; and that your 
great oflficers will, by your order, make a treaty with him to regulate 
afiairs of trade, so that nothing may happen to disturb the peace 
between China and America. Let the treaty be signed by your own 
imperial hand. It shall be signed by mine, by the authority of our 
great council, the Senate. And so may your health be good, and 
may peace reign. 

"Written at Washington, this 12th day of July, in the year of our 
Lord, 1843. Your good friend." 

Mr. Cushing, previous to his departure on this mission, made him- 
self familiar with the Manchou language, as best adapted to his inter- 
course with the court, it being more copious and expressive, as also less 
figurative and obscure, than the Chinese. The emperor, and many of 
the high officers of State were Manchous ; and to each of the Supreme 
Boards constituting the cabinet there was a Manchou as well as a 
Chinese president. 



CALEB CUSHIXG. 521 

In Julj, 1843, our minister sailed in the steam-frigate Missouri, 
which -was destroyed bj fire, August 22d of that year, off Gibraltar. 
He fortunately rescued all his official papers from destruction ; and, 
without awaiting the instructions of government, directly proceeded on 
his mission, by the way of Egypt and India, to China, and in six months 
succeeded in the negotiation of a treaty, which was signed at Wanghia. 
July 3, 1844. It was ratified by Taukwang, the Emperor of China, 
and finally exchanged by the United States and China, Dec. 31, 1845. 
Thus Mr. Cushing had the proud satisfaction of being the first for- 
eigner who ever negotiated with "the Son of Heaven" upon equal 
terms, and secured for the United States an honorable standing in the 
Celestial Empire. 

During this journey, among other useful pursuits, he prepared a 
highly valuable article on the peculiar geographical position and unique 
physical characteristics of Egypt, dated Suez, Oct. 3, 1843, which he 
forwarded to Francis Markoe, Esq., corresponding secretary of the 
National Institute, at Washington. Mr. Cushing returned from China 
through Mexico, having made almost a complete circuit of the globe, 
by land and sea, within a belt of forty degrees, in the period of less 
than one year. 

Mr. Cushing has proved himself abundantly qualified for any polit- 
ical station. He was elected, in 1846, a representative of Newbury- 
port to the State Legislature, and in the subsequent year was a can- 
didate for the office of governor of his native State. The war with 
jNIexico having been declared, Mr. Cushing warmly advocated an appro- 
priation of twenty thousand dollars for the benefit of the Massachusetts 
volunteers in that service, which was rejected by the Legislature. He 
was elected colonel of this body of volunteers in 1848, and in a few 
months was appointed a brigadier-general ; and was in command of the 
volunteer regiments of Virginia, South Carolina and Mississippi, on the 
front of the line at Buena Vista, under Major General Taylor. Hos- 
tilities having ceased on this general division, he was transferred, at his 
own request, to the line of Major General Scott, under whom he served 
until the peace. 

On his return to the United States, Gen. Cushing was elected, in 
1849, to the State Legislature, as a representative of Newbury ; and, 
as has been related of his ancestor. Judge Cushing, of Scituate, he was 
the life and soul of the Court. A political opponent, writing of Caleb 
Cushing in regard to a political debate in which he was engaged, in the 
44* 



522 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Legislature, said that he never saw sophistry and sounding verbiage cut 
up into small bits more expeditiously, nor in more masterly style, than 
was done by the logical scimitar of Caleb Gushing. The flash of the 
blade, and the keenness of the edge, were alike incomparable. There 
was no escape from the blows of that steel. And a political friend said 
of him, that few men have either the intellectual or the physical capac- 
ity to do what he has accomplished ; and when the session is over, and 
the people look back calmly upon the measures and reforms which 
will have been effected, they will see the impress of Gen. Cushing's 
mind stamped upon all the most important changes which have been 
effected. 

In the manly and patriotic document, written by Caleb Cushing, on 
the nature of the opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act, and its tendency 
to dissolve the Union, he says : " Why do any of the people of Massa- 
chusetts condemn the extradition act 7 Why the extradition clause 
in the constitution 7 We have the answer to this inquiry in the avowed 
ulterior objects of the abolitionists proper, as distinguished from the 
Free Soilers, which abolitionists are the men who lead the agitation, 
and under whose apparent leadership so large a mass of men have, 
unreflectingly, suffered themselves to come to be ranked. They are 
logical. They object to the extradition law because their avowed aim 
is to abolish negro slavery in the United States by extra constitutional 
and revolutionary means. They object to the extradition clause of the 
constitution for the same reason. They object to the constitution itself, 
because it stands in the Avay of abolitionism. They propose and advo- 
cate nullification, and the dissolution of the Union, in perfect good faith, 
as being the only means of separating themselves from slavery, and 
ridding themselves of all participation in the responsibility of its con- 
tinuance in the south." Is this imputation justifiable 7 

In connection with this subject, we here present Mr. Cushing's pero- 
ration to the spirited oration delivered at Newburyport, July 4, 1832 : 
••This Union is a vast fabric of political forethought, sagacity, and 
comprehension. Its builders were the master minds of the New 
World. Shall we, like a spendthrift heir, lavishing in an hour of riot 
the treasures amassed by the parental wisdom from which he has degen- 
erated, — shall we scatter our sj^lendid heritage to the winds 7 I will 
not believe it. I appeal to the spirits of our fathers to look down from 
their blessed abode on high, to watch over our interests, and to give us 
of the fire of patriotism kindled at their own holy altars. Illustrious 



CALEB GUSHING. 523 

and ever venerable men ! Ages yet to come, as they flourish under 
the immunities which you have bequeathed to them, shall applaud your 
wisdom, and unborn generations shall be proud to emulate your virtues, 
and to animate their great resolves by the contemplation of your exam- 
ple. The long line of your descendants, who peacefully reap the 
advantages which your blood purchased for them, shall gratefully 
cherish your memory. Posterity can erect no more splendid monu- 
ments to your fame, than are the public institutions which your wis- 
dom planned, and your heroism established. The colleges you endowed, 
the free schools you founded and protected by law, the nicely-balanced 
adjustment of the powers of government you devised, the religious 
ordinances you sustained, the sage and just laws you enacted, the 
sober, industrious and enterprising population which such laws and 
institutions fostered, and the system of defence and revenue which 
supports and binds together the whole, — these are the imperishable 
memorials of your renown, to which every year, in the lapse of time, 
instead of tarnishing their lustre, shall but add new vigor, freshness, 
and brilliancy." 

Caleb Gushing was the first mayor of Newburyport, in 1851 ; and 
a feature in the city charter, probably adopted at his suggestion, is that 
the mayor shall receive no salary. He is the most public-spirited man 
in the city. Two fortunes having descended to him by will, he is lib- 
eral in his gifts, and in the provisions he makes for the benefit of the 
public. He is ready, at any time, to throw open his house to the pub- 
lic, and convert his gardens and orchards into pleasure-grounds, and to 
furnish entertainment, when expedient. His generosity, in this way, 
flows on like a river ; and the noble reception extended to the one hun- 
dred and twenty-five members of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery 
Company, of which he is the commander, will be memorable in the history 
of that venerable body. As mayor, he is out early on horseback, like 
the elder Quincy of Boston, with a watchful eye upon all police duties. 
He inquires of men in every occupation, and every locality, and of every 
kind of association, regarding the wants of the city ; and listens to sug- 
gestions tending to public benefit. He never forgets a person, how- 
ever obscure, who has ever conferred upon him a personal favor ; and 
he is sure, in some way, to bestow a mark of his approbation. These 
traits, and the reputation they have given him of being a noble-hearted 
man, enabled him, when a Whig, to command a large portion of the 
Democratic votes in his vicinity ; and now, while he is a Democrat of 



524 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

the old line, to get the votes of a large portion of the Whigs, whenever 
required. Few men have the good sense to direct their ambition into 
a channel like this ; and such course, on the part of Mr. Gushing, fully 
accounts for his popularity at home. He has been twice elected 
mayor by an almost unanimous vote. He is a member of the Ameri- 
can Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the Board of Overseers 
of Harvard College. In 1852 he became an associate justice of the 
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. 



RICHARD SULLIVAN FAY. 

JULY 4, 1834. FOR THE CITY AUXnORITIES. 

Was born at Cambridge ; a son of Hon. Judge Fay ; graduated at 
Harvard College in 1825 ; was of the Law School, and a counsellor- 
at-law. He married Catharine Leavitt, daughter of Dudley Pickman, 
Esq., of Salem. He was a member of the Ancient and Honorable 
Artillery Company, and of the Boston city Council in 1835. 



FREDERICK ROBINSON. 

JULY 4, 1834. FOR THE TRADES UXION. 

Was born at Exeter, N. H., in 1799, and entered the academy in 
1821. Like Roger Sherman, a signer of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, he rose from the shoemaker's bench to eminent political station. 
He was a self-taught lawyer, and became president of the IMassachu- 
setts Senate, in the administration of Gov. Morton, in the year 1843 ; 
and was the means of abolishing special pleading in the courts of justice, 
seconded by Robert Rantoul, Jr., Esq., — a reform which the famous 
John Gardiner failed to effect, in 1786. Mr. Robinson married Mary 
Hutton ; was the warden of the INIassachusetts State Prison, and of the 
State Senate in 1851. 

This was a joyful day for the Boston Trades Union, as the law for 
the abolition of imprisonment for debt, which was drafted by Mr. Rob- 
inson, and ably sustained by him in its passage through the Legisla- 
ture, took effect this day. The oration was delivered on Fort Hill. 



EDWARD EVERETT. 525 

The respective trades appeared in procession, embracing more than two 
thousand persons, with banners and emblems. A beautiful printing- 
press, and a superb frigate completely rigged and manned, drawn by 
twenty-four white horses, gave effect to the parade. 



EDWARD EVERETT. 

SEPT. G, 1834. EULOGY ON LAFAYETTE. 

When the eloquent Everett pronounced his first great oration, at 
the age of thirty, on the circumstances favorable to the progress of 
literature in the United States of America, amid the fathers, fellow- 
graduates and students, of his venerable Alma Mater, and in presence 
of Lafayette, whom he beautifully apostrophized, — "Welcome! thrice 
welcome to our shores ! and whithersoever your course shall take you, 
throughout the limits of the continent, the ear that hears you shall bless 
you, the eye that sees you shall give witness to you, and every tongue 
exclaim, witti heartfelt joy, ' Welcome ! welcome, Lafayette ! ' " — the 
performance was received with great applause. When published, it 
received greater favor than any oration ever delivered at this ancient 
seat of learning, and doubtless had an influence in shaping his future 
course of life. We bless the day ; for, by this rhetorical inspiration, 
there has been showered upon our republic a body of orations and 
speeches, founded on the declaration of independence and the national 
constitution, destined to be the admiration of all future generations. 
Fortunate is it for our republic that Everett has trod in the paths of 
Cicero ; and, though we question not his capacity to have brought out 
some great production on a single subject, of enduring fame, yet the 
embodiment of his national orations, in a connected, classified form, 
comprises a great work itself, of more practical, sublime and enduring 
nature, than the most elaborate disquisitions of the most profound 
authors in the Union. More highly favored than most orators in our 
land, Edward Everett has enjoyed his own fame, from the blush of 
youth to the dechne of maturity ; and this reminds one of the opinion 
of Thomas Jefferson regarding his oration before Lafayette : " It is all 
excellent, much of it is sublimely so ; well worthy of its author and 
his subject, of whom Ave may truly say, as Avas said of Germanicus, 



526 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

'^ Fruitur fama suV " Oratory is as clearly the inspiration of 
Everett as it was of Cicero; and, like him, is so interwoven in his 
physical and mental constitution, that he has excelled most of the 
rhetoricians of his age. 

In a lecture delivered before the Mercantile Library Association of 
Boston, on the 28th of January, 1852, Mr. Everett contrasted the 
immigration now going on to the United States with the invasion of 
the Roman empire by the barbarous nations of the north and east, and 
intimated the opinion that the number of immigrants to America since 
1790 (which, with their natural increase, are supposed to be five mil- 
hons) might equal the number of the barbarians who estabhshed them- 
selves within the territories of Rome. Mr. Everett then proceeded as 
follows : 

" With this amazing fact, the comparison ends. The races that 
invaded Europe came to subjugate and lay waste; the hosts that cross 
the Atlantic are peaceful emigrants. The former burst upon the Roman 
empire, and, by repeated and continuous blows, beat the mighty colossus 
to the ground. The emigrants to America, from all countries, come to 
cast in their lot with the native citizens, and to share with them this 
great inheritance of civil and religious liberty. The former were fero- 
cious savages, half-clad in skins, speaking strange tongues, and wor- 
shipping strange gods with bloody rites ; the latter are natives of the 
same countries from which our fathers went forth, and belong, with 
them and with us, to the one great and blessed household of the Christian 
faith. The former destroyed the culture of the ancient world ; and it 
was not till after a thousand years, that a better civilization grew up 
on the ruins. The millions who have established themselves in Amer- 
ica, within the last sixty years, are, from the moment of their arrival, 
gradually absorbed into the mass of the population, obeying the laws, 
moulding themselves to the manners of the country, and contributing 
their share to its prosperity and strength. 

"It is a curious coincidence, that, as the first mighty wave of the 
hostile immigration that burst upon the south of Europe, before our 
Saviour, consisted of tribes of the great Celtic race, the remains of 
which, identified by their original dialect, are still to be traced in 
Brittany, in Wales, in the highlands of Scotland, and especially in 
Ireland, — so, by far the greater portion of the new and peaceful emi- 
gration to the United States consists of persons belonging to the same 
fervid, impulsive, and, too often, persecuted race. I have heard, in 



EDWARD EVERETT. 527 

the mountains of Wales, and in the highlands of Scotland, the Bible 
read, and the Gospel preached, in substantially the same language in 
which Brennus summoned the Roman senators to surrender the 
Capitol ; and in which, in the time of Julius Cfcsar, the mystic songs 
of the Druids were chanted in the depths of the primeval forests of 
France and England. It is still spoken, with some variety of dia- 
lect, by thousands of Scotch, Welsh, and Irish emigrants, in dif- 
ferent parts of the United States, — some of whom speak no other 
language. 

"I regard this Celtic race as one of the most remarkable that has 
appeared in history. Whether it belongs to that comprehensive Indo- 
European family of nations which, in ages before the dawn of history, 
took up the line of march from lower India, and, moving westward, by 
a northern and a southern route, diffused itself through western Asia, 
northern Africa, and the greater part of Europe, — or whether, as 
others suppose, they belong to a still older family, and were themselves 
driven down upon the south and west of Europe by the overwhelming 
irruption of the Indo-European race, — I pretend not to decide. How- 
ever this question may be settled, it would seem that now, for the first 
time, as far as we are acquainted with the history of what are usually 
classed as distinct Celtic tribes, they have found themselves in a truly 
prosperous condition, in this country. Driven from the soil to which 
their fathers have clung through all the storms and vicissitudes of 
twenty centuries, they have at length, and for the first time, found a 
real home in the land of strangers. Having been told, in their native 
country, in the frightful language of political economy, that at the 
great table which Nature daily spreads for the human family there is 
no cover laid for them, despairing and heart-broken they have crossed 
the ocean, and here, upon a foreign but friendly soil, have found shel- 
ter, employment, and bread. 

" This ' Celtic exodus,' as it has been called, is, to all the parties 
concerned, as it seems to me, by very far the most important event of 
the day. To the emigrants themselves^ it is often literally passing 
from death to life. It holds out a hope of restoring the prosperity of 
Ireland, by reducing her surplus population, and establishing a healthy 
relation between labor and capital. It benefits England in the same 
way ; for there one of the greatest troubles has been, that the native 
laborers of the sister isles are engaged in a death-struggle for that 
employment and bread, of which there is enough only for one of the 



528 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

parties. We, in our turn, come in for our share of the benefit ; for a 
chief difficulty with us has been, that our labor is obliged, in all 
departments of industry common to Europe and America, to sustain a 
competition -with the underpaid labor of the old world. In the mean 
time, the constant influx into the United States of hundreds of thou- 
sands of efficient hands supplies the great want of a new country, — 
that is, labor, — gives value to land, and facilitates the execution of 
every species of private enterprise and public Avork. 

"lam quite aware that this favorable picture has its dark side. 
There are inconveniences and sufferings, — evils, if you please, — inci- 
dent to emigration, on both sides of the water. There is an untold 
amount of hardship and privation, on the part of the emigrant; and, on 
this side of the ocean, there are serious inconveniences, although their 
gravity is, I think, exaggerated. It cannot, however, be denied that 
our alms-houses, our hospitals, and our asylums, are overcrowded with 
foreign inmates, — that their support is a burden to the pubhc, — and 
that the resources of private benevolence are heavily draAvn upon. 

" It is said, even, that, in consequence of the greater liberality of her 
public establishments, Massachusetts, in proportion to her population, 
supports more than her share of poor foreigners, — that they are sent 
in upon her from her sister States and the British provinces. If this 
is so, it is a wrong, as well as an evil. But the evil and the wrong 
might be corrected, by judicious legislation, firmly administered. In 
the mean time, Massachusetts might do a much worse thing, with a 
portion of her surplus means, than feed the hungry, and clothe the 
naked, and give a home to the stranger, and rekindle the spark of 
reason in the mind of the poor lunatic, even though that lunatic may 
have been (as I am ashamed, for the honor of humanity, to say has 
once, at least, been the case) set on shore in the night from a coast- 
ing vessel, and found in the morning, in the fields, half dead, from 
cold, and fright, and hunger. 

" 'But they are foreigners,' you say. And what, in the name of 
Heaven, were the Pilgrim Fathers, when the poor, half-clad savage, 
on Plymouth beach, met them with the cry of ' Welcome, English- 
men ' 7 Foreigners, are they 7 — Indeed ! Is half the Union ready 
to plunge, with all the resources of the country, into a conflict with 
the military despotisms of Eastern Europe, in order to redress the 
wrongs of races which feed their flocks on the slopes of the Carpathians, 
and reap — not for themselves — the fields which are watered by the 



EDWARD EVERETT. 629 

tributaries of the Danube, — and shall we talk of the hardship of 
relieving destitute strangers, whom the providence of God has guided 
across the ocean and laid down at our very doors 7 " 

Edward Everett was born in Dorchester, April 11, 1794, and was 
a son of Oliver Everett, who married Lucy Hill. His father was the 
predecessor of President Kirkland, of the New South Church, in 
Boston, and was afterwards Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for 
Norfolk. His birth-place was an antique, gable-roofed, wooden edifice, 
at the "Five Corners," now occupied by Mr. George Richardson. 
His primary teacher was Miss Lucy Clapp, a daughter of Noah Clapp, 
who had been the town clerk for half a century. 

"My ancestors, from the first settlement of the country, were born 
and bred in the prosperous town of Dedham," said Mr. Everett, in 
after life. "I am proud of my descent. My foreflithers were very 
humble men. — farmers and mechanics, — and devoted themselves to 
a most unambitious career. They left nothing to their descendants, 
of either fame or fortune, but a good name. There is a charm in a 
single visit to one's native spot. I have not been able, even for a 
single day, to breathe the air of those fields, where my fathers have 
lived and acted their humble part for two hundred years, without 
experiencing emotions that words fail to describe. 

' I feel the gales that from ye blow 

A momentary bliss bestow, 
As, ■waving fresh your gladsome wing. 

My weary soul ye seem to soothe, 

And, redolent of joy and youth. 
To breathe a second spring.' " 

" My own honored father," he remarked, on another occasion, " was 
born and grew up to manhood here in the same humble sphere ; and, 
as I came back to breathe the native air of my race, I must say, that, 
with the greater experience I have had of the cares and trials of public 
station, the more ready I am to wish that it had been my lot to grow 
up and pass my life in harmless obscurity, in these peaceful shades, 
and, after an unobtrusive career, to be gathered to my sires, in the old 
Dedham grave-yard, where, 

' Each in his narrow cell forever laid. 
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.' " 

"When I first went to a village school," said Mr. Everett,— "I 
45 



530 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

remember it as yesterday ; I seem still to hold, by one hand, for pro- 
tection (I was of the valiant age of three years), to an elder sister's 
apron ; with the other, I grasped my primer, a volume of about two 
and a half inches in length, which formed, then, the sum total of my 
library, and which had lost the blue-paper cover from one corner — 
my first misfortune in life; — I say, it was the practice then, as we 
were trudging along to school, to draw up by the road-side, if a travel- 
ler, a stranger, or a person in years, passed along, and ' make our 
manners,' as it was called. The little girls curtsied ; the boys made 
a bow. It was not done with much grace, I suppose. — but there was 
a civility and decency about it which did the children good, and pro- 
duced a pleasing impression on those who witnessed it. The age of 
school-boy chivalry is past, never to return. These manners belong 
to a forgotten order of things : they are too precise and rigorous for 
this enlightened age." 

" My education began at the free schools of my native village of 
Dorchester," said he, on another occasion, at a meeting in Boston, 
"and of this, the beloved city of my adoption. The first distinction 
which crowned my humble career was the Franklin medal, at the 
reading-school in North Bennet-street, when I was not much higher 
than that table ; and, if my tongue is ever silent when it ought to speak 
the praises of the common schools of Massachusetts, may it never be 
heard with favor in any other cause ! " and, in reference to education, 
Mr. Everett further emphasized, in an oration at Williams College : 
" I would rather occupy the bleakest nook of the mountain that towers 
above us, with the wild wolf and the rattlesnake for my nearest neigh- 
bors, with a village school, well kept, at the bottom of the hill, than 
dwell in a paradise of fertility, if I must bring up my children in lazy, 
pampered, self-sufficient ignorance." 

His preceptors in the public schools of his native town were Rev. 
James Blake Howe and Rev. Wilkes Allen. It was in one of these 
schools that the youthful Everett recited, at an exhibition, a poem, 
generally supposed to begin with these words : 

" You 'd scarce expect one of my age 
To speak in public on the stage." 

In order to ascertain the fact regarding this matter, which has been a 
question of doubt for half a century, the editor of this work applied 
to Dr. Harris, of Gore Library, — a son of the late Rev. Dr. Harris, 



EDWARD EVERETT. 531 

■who baptized the infant Edward, April 13, 1794, — and learned that 
the poem alluded to was not the one spoken by him, but the following, 
as prefixed to the letter, dated Cambridge, Feb. 1, 1850, in which 
Dr. Harris stated, " I have seen copies of these lines, differing slightly 
and variously from the foregoing, which, according to my recollection, 
agrees more nearly with the original than the others. I mean to say, 
that the lines now sent are nearer to the original than Other copies that 
I have seen. The 'little orator' has become a great one." The 
expression "little roan" applies to the color of Edward Everett's hair. 

THE LITTLE ORATOR. 

iLines written for Edward Everett, when a child, by the Bev. Thaddeus Mason Harris.] 

Pray how should I, a little lad, 

In speaking, make a figure ? 
You 're only joking, I 'm afraid, — 

Do wait till I am bigger. 
But, since you wish to hear my part. 

And urge me to begin it, 
I '11 strive for praise, with all my heart. 

Though small the hope to win it. 
I '11 tell a tale how Farmer John 

A little roan-colt bred, sir, 
And every night and every morn 

He watered and he fed, sir. 
Said Neighbor Joe to Farmer John, 

" Arn't you a silly dolt, sir. 
To spend such time and care upon 

A little, useless colt, sir ? " 
Said Farmer John to Neighbor Joe, 

" I bring my little roan up, 
Not for the good he now can do. 

But will do, when he 's grown up." 
The moral you can well espy. 

To keep the tale from spoiling ; 
The little colt, you think, is I, — 

I know it by your smiling. 
And now, my friends, please to excuse 

My lisping and my stammers ; 
I, for this once, have done my best, 

And so — I '11 make my manners. 

After some time spent at a public school, under Master Tileston, 
and at a private school in Boston, kept by Ezekiel Webster, the 
elder brother of the great statesman, he entered the public Latin 
School, under Master Bigelow, from which he was removed to Exeter 



532 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Academy, in 1807, -where he remained for six months before entering 
college; and, in allusion to this period, he once remarked, that 
"there was no philosophical or scientific apparatus furnished at the 
schools, in my day, with the exception, as I remember, in a single 
instance, of a rickety gimcrack that was called a planetarium, and 
showed how the heavenly bodies do not move. As for a school library, 
there was not, m any school I ever attended, so much as half a dozen 
books bearing that name. There was, indeed, at the academy at Exe- 
ter, which it was my good fortune to attend for a few months before I 
entered college, a library, containing, I believe, some valuable, though 
probably rather antiquated volumes. It was my privilege, while I was 
a pupil, never to see the inside of that apartment ; — privilege, I say, 
for it was the place where th severer discipline of the institution, in 
rare cases of need, was administered. 

' Hinc exaudiri gemitus et saeva sonare 
Verbera.' 

"We httle fellows got to have the most disagreeable associations 
with the very name of library. I ought to add, in justice to our 
time-honored preceptor, good Dr. Abbott, that the use of the library 
for any such purpose was of very rare occurrence. He possessed the 
happy skill, which I am gratified to say has not died with him, of 
governing a school by persuasion and influence, and not by force and 
terror. So late as when I went to the Latin School in Boston, the 
boys had to take their turn — youngsters, some of them eleven and 
twelve years of age — of getting up before sunrise, in the winter, and 
going to the school-house (some of them a long distance, and at times 
through streets blocked up Avith snow), to ' sweep out school,' as it was 
called, and exercise their ingenuity in making wet wood burn, and a 
foul chimney draw smoke." 

When Everett entered Harvard College, he was the youngest mem- 
ber of his class; and, on his graduation, in 1811, his subject was, 
" Literary Evils; " and, when a candidate for the degree of Master of 
Arts, the topic of his oration was the " Restoration of Greece." In 
1812 Mr. Everett was appointed Latin tutor in Harvard college, at 
which period he delivered a poem for the Phi Beta Kappa Society, on 
the American Poets, which afforded indications of forthcoming emi- 
nence in a youth of eighteen. This performance was privately printed, 
for distribution among his friends. We glean a few extracts from this 
patriotic effusion : 



-^ EDWARD EVERETT. 533 

" Lo, Faneuil's dome ! where Freedom's infant days 
Learned the fii"st notes of Liberty to raise ; 
Where Quincy's high career of worth was run, 
Who blessed his country when he gave his son ; 
Where the first Otis trod the paths of fame, 
And dropt his mantle when he gave his name. 
Hail, glorious pile ! shall not your simple towers 
Fill the wide compass of the boldest powers, — 
Ascend, like Babel, with the eagle's flight, 
And reach the heavens in fame, as that in height ? 
The hoary sire of ages yet to come 
Shall point his offspring to your honored dome ; 
To the fond traveller's eager notice show 
The hall above, the market-house below. 
There came our sires to feed the patriot heart, 
And here they came to feed a different part ; 
From each to each, at proper times, they move, 
And bought their meat below, and gave their vote above. 
And mark, not for from Faneuil's honored side, 
Where the old State-house rises in its pride. 
But, oh, how changed ! its halls, alas ! are fled, 
And shop and office fill their slighted stead. 
There, where the shade of Hancock's glory dwells, 
A saddler hammers, and a grocer sells ! 
Hats fill the hall where councilled wisdom sate. 
And Rea sells shoes where Bowdoin ruled a state ! " 

We turn to a passage of a diifcrent order, wliere Everett predicts of 
future poets : 

" Here our own bays some native Pope shall grace, 
And lovelier beauties fill Belinda's place. 
Here future hands shall Goldsmith's village rear. 
And his tired traveller rest his wanderings here. 
* * * * 

Fitz James's horn Niagara's echoes wake. 
And Katrine's lady skim o'er Erie's lake." 

The best poem from the hand of Everett is the Dirge of Alaric, a 
favorite piece for declamation. The law Avas the profession of his first 
choice, but he yielded to the influence of the eminent Joseph Stevens 
Buckminster, to whose church his family belonged, and studied divin- 
ity Avhile officiating as tutor ; and, in 1813, became his successor over 
Brattle-street Church, during which period he wrote the invincible 
Defence of Christianity, in reply to the noted George B. Enghsh, a 
deistical writer. The popularity of Mr. Everett was unbounded, during 
his ministry. 

45* 



534 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

The Hon. Judge Story, Avho attended public worship at the cap- 
itol, in Washington, in February, 1820, to hear Edward Everett, then 
on a visit there, when he dehvered his famous sermon, " Brethren, 
the time is short," relates, in writing to a friend, that he omitted 
"some passages, and in their stead introduced beautiful extracts from 
his sermon on the future prospects of America. The sermon was truly 
splendid, and was heard with a breathless silence. The audience was 
very large ; and, being in that magnificent apartment of the House of 
Representatives, it had vast effect. I saw Mr. King, of New York, 
and Mr. Otis, of Massachusetts, there. They were both very much 
affected with INIr. Everett's sermon; and Mr. Otis, in particular, wept 
bitterly. There were some very touching appeals to our most delicate 
feelings, on the loss of our friends. Indeed, Mr. Everett was almost 
universally admired, as the most eloquent of preachers. Mr. King told 
me he never heard a discourse so full of unction, eloquence, and good 
taste." 

In 1815 Mr. Everett was appointed the professor of Greek Litera- 
ture in Harvard College, which station he occupied until 1826. Shortly 
after his induction, he visited Europe. He arrived at Liverpool just 
after the escape of Napoleon from Elba, and was detained in London 
until after the battle of Waterloo. From thence he went, by the way 
of Holland, to Gottingen, which was at that time the seat of the most 
distinguished German university. He resided there more than two 
years, employed in the study of those branches of ancient and modern 
literature appropriate to his new sphere. He visited Prussia, Holland, 
and many of the German cities, making the acquaintance of learned 
men of the day. He passed the winter of 1817-18 at Paris, employed 
in literary pursuits, especially in the study of the modern Greek. In 
the spring of 1818 he crossed the English channel, and passed several 
weeks in London, at Oxford and Cambridge. In the autumn he 
returned to France, and travelled through Switzerland on the way to 
Italy. He passed the winter in Rome, giving his mind to ancient lit- 
erature and antiquities, enjoying constant access to the library of the 
Vatican, and the intimate acquaintance of Canova, then occupied on 
the statue of Washington. Gen. Theodore Lyman was his fellow- 
traveller, during most of the tour after leaving Germany. They went 
in company to the Ionian Islands and Greece, and were kindly received 
at Yanina by Ali Pacha, to whom Mr. Everett brought a letter of 
introduction from Lord Byron. After luxuriating in the enchantments 



EDWARD EVERETT. 535 

of Greece, they visited the plain of Troy, Constantinople, and Adrian- 
ople ; crossed the Balkan, near the road afterwards taken by the Rus- 
sian army, and then proceeded, through Wallachia and Hungary, to 
Vienna, to Paris and London, returning to the United States after an 
absence of nearly five years. 

Shortly after his return from the tour over Europe, Mr. Everett 
remarked, in an oration: "For myself, I can truly say that, after my 
native land, I feel a reverence for that of my fathers. The pride I 
take in my own country makes me respect that from which we are 
sprung. In touching the soil of England, I seem to return, like a 
descendant, to the old family seat, — to come back to the abode of an 
aged and venerable parent. I acknowledge this great consanguinity 
of nations. The sound of my native language, beyond the sea, is a 
music to my ear, beyond the richest strains of Tuscan softness or Cas- 
tilian majesty. I am not yet in a land of strangers, while surrounded 
by the manners, the habits and institutions, under which I have been 
brought up. I wander, delighted, through a thousand scenes, which 
the historians and the poets have made familiar to us, — of Avhich the 
names are interwoven with our earliest associations. I tread with rev- 
erence the spots where I can retrace the footsteps of our suffering 
fathers. The pleasant land of their birth has a claim on my heart. 
It seems to me a classic, — yea, a holy land, — rich in the memory of 
the great and good, the champions and the martyrs of liberty, the 
exiled heralds of truth ; and richer, as the parent of this land of 
promise in the west." 

He resumed the duties of the professorship at Cambridge, and 
engaged also in the editorial care of the North American Review, which 
he conducted until 1824. It became the great periodical of the nation. 
His vigorous contributions, on various important questions connected 
■with the literature, history, public policy and foreign relations of the 
country, identify his character with our national history. In May 8, 
1822, Mr. Everett was married, by Rev. Nathaniel L. Frothingham, 
to Charlotte Gray, a daughter of Hon. Peter C. Brooks. 

The fame of Edward Everett, as a scholar, runs back to his boyish 
days. It was, however, the Phi Beta Kappa oration, at Cambridge, 
in 1824, remarks Professor Eelton, — from whose article in the North 
American Review we have mainly condensed this relation, — that placed 
him before the public as one of the most accomplished orators who 
had ever appeared in America. The occasion was a singularly happy 



536 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

one, — the visit of Gen. Lafayette, in his old age, to the country, -whose 
liberties he had bravely fought for in the chivalrous days of his youth. 
The ardent, enthusiastic, and unanimous -welcome, -SN'hich rang from city 
to city, as the noble and heroic old man moved on through the successive 
stages of his great ovation: the excitement of the thronging multitudes, 
of the descendants of his companions in arms, -who poured out from 
hamlet and village, and to-wn and city, to meet him, to follow him. to 
hsten to his vrords. to gaze upon his friendly and venerable countenance, 
and to bless him -\vith the warm benedictions of full and grateful hearts ; 

— all these inspiring circumstances had spread a festal joy, unexampled 
in the history of the country, preparing the minds of men to respond 
to the inspired voices of eloquent speakers, — to beat in full accordance 
■with the thrilling memories of the past, — to savcII with the exulting 
anticipations of the future. The immense multitude who were present 
in Cambridge on that anniversary Avill never forget the deep interest 
of the occasion. The plaudits and congratulations were rapturous, 
as they received among them the beloved guest of the nation, and 
breathless and absorbing was the attention with which they listened to 
the discourse of Mr. Everett, as It reached, with its rich harmonies, the 
remotest parts of the old church, crowded to its utmost capacity with 
eager and expectant throngs. The old-fashioned square pews were 
filled, and every inch of space on the top of the narrow railing which 
encloses them was occupied by persons who, unable to find seats or 
standing-places, remained perched upon these sharp edges, hour after 
hour, wholly unconscious of the discomfort of their uncertain elevation. 
Mr. Everett's subject was fortunately chosen for such an assembly of 
lettered men, and fell in admirably with the joyous and triumphant 
spirit of the occasion. It was redolent of the most refined scholarship, 

— the most exquisite learning, drawn from the highest fountains of 
knowledge. It was the earnest plea of a republican scholar, in defence 
of republican institutions in their bearing upon the cultivation of let- 
ters and science. The argument was conducted with consummate abil- 
ity and taste. None left that assembly without having their confidence 
in the intellectual destinies of their country increased by its close 
reasoning and glowing appeals. The orator was then in his early 
manhood, with the fresh dews of youth still lingering about him. Most 
of the audience had never listened to his voice or looked upon his 
countenance before, though his literary renown had already filled the 
land ; and the music of his speech came upon them with the effect of 



EDWARD EVERETT. 537 

a delicious noveltj. To many of them was given, on that day, the first 
conception of classical oratory, — those triumphs achieved by the com- 
bination of the gifts of genius with matured and profound studies, and 
with a thorough knowledge of the principles and a careful training in 
the practice of the art ; employed upon subjects of deep and immediate 
concern to the hearers, and holding undivided possession of the soul, 
while tasking all the mental energies of the speaker. So Demosthenes 
moved the passions and swayed the minds of the Athenian assemblies, 
as he addressed to them, from the Bema, those carefully meditated ora- 
tions by which, year after year, he controlled the policy of the Athenian 
commonwealth. So Cicero compelled the feelings of the surging mul- 
titudes of the Roman forum to obey the movements of liis eloquence, 
as the mighty ocean tides follow the path of the serene orb of heaven, 
whose attraction nature forbids them to resist. 

When President Jackson visited Bunker Hill, June 26, 1833, he 
was conducted to a raised platform near the monument, where he was 
addressed by Edward Everett in an eloquent congratulatory speech, when 
the president made a pertinent reply ; and was then presented with a box 
made from the timber of the United States frigate Constitution, contain- 
ing "a grape-shot dug up from the sod beneath our feet," says Ever- 
ett, " and a cannon-ball from the battle-field of New Orleans, brought 
from the enclosure within which your head-quarters were established. 
They are preserved in one casket ; and, on behalf of the citizens of 
Charlestown, I now present them to you, in the hope that they will 
perpetuate in your mind an acceptable association of the 17th of June, 
1775, and the 8th of January, 1815, — the dates of the first and last 
battles fought under the American standard. The spot on Avhich we 
are gathered is not the place for adulation. Standing over the ashes 
of men who died for liberty, we can speak no language but that of 
freemen. In an address to the chief magistrate of the United States, 
there is no room for one word of compliment or flattery. But with 
grateful remembrance of your services to the country, — with becoming 
respect for your station, the most exalted on earth, — and with unan- 
imous approbation of the firm, resolute and patriotic stand, which you 
assumed, in the late alarming crisis of affairs, in order to preserve that 
happy Union under one constitutional head, for the establishment of 
which those streets were wrapped in fire and this hill was drenched in 
blood, — with one heart and one voice, we bid you welcome to Bunker 
Hill! " On the decease of President Jackson, the above-mentioned 



538 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

casket passed, by bequest, into the hands of Nicholas P. Trist, for- 
merly consul at Havana, who disposed of the same to Bowen & 
McNamee, silk merchants, of New York, by whom it was presented 
to M. Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot, December, 1851, when on his 
visit to the United States. 

The apostrophe of Mr. Everett to Lafayette, in his oration, was 
equal in effect, perhaps, to anything of the kind in ancient or modern 
oratory, and the whole production is a most beautiful and scholarly 
plea for letters in republican States. Between this and the speech on 
the Sacred Scriptures, the last speech contained in the collection of Mr. 
Everett's orations published in 1850, in two volumes, 8vo., which forms 
a fitting close of religious solemnity, to the manifold strains that fill 
the intervening periods with their rich enchantments, we have had 
from his lips a series of orations, discourses, addresses and speeches, on 
a remarkable variety of occasions and topics, for a peculiar variety of 
objects, in different countries and many places. He has given the peo- 
ple elaborate literary orations, delivered before college and other soci- 
eties ; discourses in commemoration of the founding of our New Eng- 
land institutions ; orations for anniversary celebrations of the great 
battles of the Revolution ; fourth of July orations ; eulogies on illus- 
trious patriots, as Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Lafay- 
ette, and Adams the younger ; lyceum lectures ; speeches at public 
dinners, and other festivals ; temperance addresses ; the like for char- 
itable, literary, agricultural and scientific institutions, and legislative 
committees, — extending, in all that are printed in a connected form, to 
the number of eighty-one ; a third more than Demosthenes wrote in 
his whole life, and nearly as many as are extant of Demosthenes and 
Cicero together, — much exceeding, with one exception, the productions 
of any other political orator in our republic. The number of orations 
and speeches of Daniel Webster, pubhshed in a connected form, is 
eighty-five. This refers, however, to the collection of Mr. Webster's 
speeches in three volumes. The recent edition is in six volumes, and 
the number of speeches contained in them is proportionably greater. 
As regards orations alone, Everett has pronounced more than any other 
man. 

When the representative of Middlesex, Hon. Timothy Fuller, 
declined another election to Congress, in 1824, Mr. Everett was a can- 
didate for the succession. It was his intention to retain his station in 
Harvard College, as did John Quincy Adams, who filled the professor- 



EDWARD EVERETT. 539 

ship of rhetoric and oratory whilst in the United States Senate. He 
was elected by a handsome majority; but it was decided by the cor- 
poration of the college that his station was vacated by accepting a seat 
in Congress. In December, 1825, he found himself at the capital, in 
a new sphere of life, in which he engaged for ten years, devoting him- 
self, both on the floor and in the committee-room,^ to the discharge of the 
public business and the performance of the duties especially assigned to 
him. During his whole term of service in Congress, he was on the 
committee on foreign affairs, and for a part of the time was its chair- 
man. Ilis political career in Congress was highly important to the 
public interests ; and the last act of Mr. Everett was in furnishing the 
minority report of this committee, on the French controversy, in 1835. 
His speech on that subject is said to have been commended by Louis 
Philippe, in the highest terms. It was in this year that he withdrew 
from the councils of the nation. 

Mr. Everett was a beautiful specimen in Congress of what a politician 
should be ; for he never descended to personal invective, in contending 
with political adversaries, ever observing a dignified and manly inde- 
pendence, in a generous spirit ; and, of consequence, impassioned sar- 
casm was never heaped upon him. Indeed, it may be truly asserted, 
that no eminent statesman among us has more clearly escaped the 
shafts of passionate partisans than our own Edward Everett. 

In the year 1834 Mr. Everett pronounced the eulogy on Lafay- 
ette, for the young men of Boston. Its peroration is remarkably 
impressive. The portrait of Washington on the western wall of Fan- 
euil Hall, where it was delivered, illustrates some of the allusions. 
After remarking that the great principle of the Revolutionary fathers 
and the Pilgrims — the love of liberty protected by law — was the rule 
of Lafayette in his political course, he makes past history, and the asso- 
ciations of the old cradle of liberty, and the memorial rites in which 
they are engaged, repeat the monition : " Blood which our fathers 
shed, cry from the ground ! Echoing arches of this renowned hall, 
whisper back the voices of other days ! Glorious Washington, break 
the long silence of that votive canvas ! Speak, speak, marble lips ! 
— (alluding to the bust of Lafayette, on the platform) — teach us the 
love of liberty protected by law ! " 

The patriotic tendencies of Edward Everett's mind have been thus 
characterized by our own classic Hillard, in language well worthy the 
subject. " His mind," says Hillard, " is not moved in remote regions 



540 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS, 

■wliicli lie in that soft, ideal light, so dear to the intellectual voluptuary. 
He has not shrunk from the homely earth, and the open day. Bunker 
Hill has been to him a more magic word than Marathon. His learn- 
ing has borne a practical stamp. The stream of living life has flowed 
through his mind, and made it productive of rich harvests as the times 
have need of To make the history of his country attractive, to 
inspire a deep veneration for its great men, to develop its industrial 
resources, to draw from the past lessons for the guidance of the future, 
to awaken a thoughtful and generous patriotism, to call the atten- 
tion of scholars to native virtues and homeborn worth, to teach our 
young men that lives better than Plutarch's are lying at their feet, — 
these are the ends to which his powers and his attainments have been 
devoted ; and, as the ends were noble, so has his success been triumph- 
ant." As was said by Ben Jonson of Bacon, so captivating was his 
eloquence, " the fear of every man that heard him was lest he should 
make an end." 

Gov. Everett was the founder of a new era in the cause of educa- 
tion among the descendants of the Pilgrim fathers, and rose above the 
strong current of opposition. The Christian Examiner, in an article 
on this subject, thus emphasizes : " The value of the services of Gov. 
Everett, under these disadvantageous and perplexing circumstances, 
cannot be over-estimated. He wrote the several annual reports of the 
board ; and, as chairman of most of the sub-committees, he also dis- 
charged a great amount of labor, and bore the constant burden of 
responsible care. His indefatigable fidelity, his conscientious and 
enlightened prudence, his extraordinary discretion as a statesman, and 
his profound enthusiasm in the cause, were what the crisis absolutely 
needed. While justice to the secretary demands the tribute which we 
are about to render, it also requires us to acknowledge that no other 
hand, perhaps, than that which then held the helm of State, could have 
safely piloted the little bark through the rough sea of jealousy and 
opposition." In relation to the indomitable coadjutor of Gov. Everett 
in the reform, the governor himself once generously remarked : "I 
honor, beyond all common names of respect, the distinguished gentle- 
man — Horace Mann — who for twelve years has devoted the indomi- 
table energy of his character to this noble cause. He will be remem- 
bered till the history of Massachusetts is forgotten, as one of her greatest 
benefactors. I reflect, with satisfaction, that the Board of Education 
was established on a recommendation which I had the honor to submit 



EDWARD EVERETT. 541 

to the Legislature ; and that I had the privilege of cooperating in its 
organization, in the choice of its secretary, in the establishment of the 
normal schools under its patronage, and in the other measures which 
marked its opening career." Of the Western Railroad he observed, 
in 1835, "that next to the great questions of liberty and independ- 
ence, the doors of Faneuil Hall were never thrown open on an occa- 
sion of greater moment to the people of the city and the State." 

We find in the Memoirs of Hon. Judge Story the following trib- 
ute to Gov. Everett, from a letter addressed to him, dated May 30, 
1840 ; but we must take exception to the intimation that Mr. Everett 
has not furnished "a great woi'k for posterity." 

" When I look back upon your administration, I do it with feelings 
of lofty pride and unmixed pleasure. It was all I could have wished. 
It was wise and patriotic, guided by the right spirit and the right prin- 
ciple, and conducted with a deep regard for morals and justice, and 
infinitely removed above the injustice and the follies of mere party. It 
was just such as a Christian magistrate ought to pursue, and a Chris- 
tian people feel a pride in supporting. To have a scholar and a gen- 
tleman, second to none among us in all the attributes of taste and 
genius and learning, our governor, was to me, I confess, a source of 
exultation. To see him rejected by the people, when his fame had 
been among their best possessions, was to me a startling proof of 
their frail and unsteady judgments, and a lesson of the gratitude of 
republics, which has come over my heart with many saddened thoughts 
respecting our future prospects. You can have nothing to regret in 
all this ; but we have much for lamentation and bitter sorrow. 

"My dear sir, allow me to say one word more respecting yourself. 
You have. I trust, many years before you of health and labor. What 
I desire is, that, in addition to the many beautiful — ay, exquisitely 
beautiful — specimens of your genius, Avhich we have had upon occa- 
sional topics, you would now meditate some great work for posterity, 
which shall make you known and felt through all time, as we your 
contemporaries now. know and esteem you. This should be the crown- 
ing future purpose of your life. Sat verbuni sapienti. If I should 
live to see it, I should hail it with the highest pleasure. If I am dead, 
pray remember that it was one of the thoughts Avhich clung most 
closely to me to the very last." 

Among the subjects of great public interest to which Mr. Everett 
has devoted his attention, agriculture holds a large share. In one of 
46 



542 TUE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS, 

his speeches, delivered at Dcdham, after alluding to the disposition of 
settlers, in a new country, to destroy trees, -when they should protect 
and propagate them, he remarks • " There are, in the interior of New 
England, a great many noble trees, planted eighty or one hundred 
years ago ; and most certainly nothing grows out of the earth, and man 
can put nothing upon it, so beautiful. I hope, my friends, we shall 
let our children and grandchildren enjoy the great comfort to be derived 
from this source. Sir Walter Scott represents one of his characters as 
saying that his father used to tell him to be always putting down a tree. 
' It will be growing, Jock, when you are sleeping.' It will be grow- 
ing, sir, when we are sleeping to wake no more. The acorn Avhich you 
cover with a couple of inches of earth, the seedling elm which you 
rescue in your garden from the spade, will outlive half a dozen of our 
generations. Cicero speaks of it as a kind of natural foresight of the 
continued existence of man, that ' men planted trees which were a ben- 
efit to a coming generation.' Yes, sir ; and if every man, before he 
goes hence, would but take care to leave one good oak or elm behind 
him, he would not have lived in vain. His children and grandchildren 
would bless his memory." 

The conception of Cicero, that men planted trees that were to be a 
benefit to coming generations, reminds one of an impressive incident 
regarding James Otis, the great patriot, which occurred at Andover, a 
few weeks before his sudden death. One morning, when he gave indi- 
cations of being strongly agitated, Otis took a hatchet and went to a 
copse of pines, standing on a rising ground a few yards from the house, 
and passed all the forenoon in trimming away the lower branches of the 
wood. When Mr. Osgood, with whom Otis resided, came to invite him 
to dinner, he said, with great earnestness, " Osgood, if I die while I 
am in your house, I charge you to have me buried under these trees ; " 
and then added, with a little touch of humor that shone forth like a 
bright gleam in a tempestuous sky, " you know my grave would over- 
look all your fields, and I could have an eye upon the boys, and see if 
they minded their work." May the young students and laborers of 
Andover be incited to perseverance, when they view the trees around 
Otis' burial-place, and imagine his eye upon them ! 

Mr. Everett was chosen Governor of Massachusetts in 1835, and for 
three succeeding terms ; and was followed by Judge Morton, in 1840, 
■who was elected by a majority of one vote. He labored assiduously 
for the moral, commercial and political interests of the State, especially 



EDWARD EVERETT. 543 

effecting the noble objects of the Board of Education and the Western 
Railroad. 

He embarked for Europe in June, 1840, passing the summer in 
Paris, and the succeeding year in Florence. It is related that, pre- 
vious to the departure of Mr. Everett from Boston, when present at 
a public dinner, Hon. Judge Story gave as a sentiment, "Learning, 
genius and eloquence, are sure to be welcome where Ever-ett goes." 
On which, Mr. Everett promptly gave, " Law, Equity and Jurispru- 
dence : All their efforts to rise will never be able to get above one 
Story." On the recall of Andrew Stevenson, the minister to the 
court of St. James, in 1841, Mr. Everett was appointed his successor, 
where he remained until the accession of President Polk, when he was 
succeeded by Louis McLane. As minister to the most important 
empire in the world, he acquitted himself with an ability and dignity 
highly honorable to his exalted station. 

He arrived in London, to enter upon the duties of his mission, at 
the close of the year 1841. Among the great questions, remarks the 
Whig Review, "which were at that time open between the two coun- 
tries, were, the north-eastern boundary, the affair of Mr. McLeod, and 
the seizure of American vessels on the coast of Africa. In the course 
of a few months, the affiiir of the Creole followed, to which were soon 
added Oregon and Texas. His position must have been rendered 
more diflScult by the frequent changes which took place in the depart- 
ment at home. Between Mr. Webster, who retired in the spring of 
1843, and Mr. Buchanan, who came in with Mr. Polk in 1345, it was 
occupied, successively, by Messrs. Legare, Upshur, and Calhoun. 
From all these gentlemen Mr. Everett received marks of approbation 
and confidence. * ***** 

"The congressional documents are the only sources open to the 
public from which may be learned the nature of the subjects which 
Mr. Everett brought to a successful issue. Among these were several 
claims for the seizure of vessels on the coast of Africa, and large 
demands of American citizens for duties levied contrary to the com- 
mercial treaty between the two countries. In reference to the latter, 
Mr. Everett obtained an acknowledgment of the justice of the claims, 
and proposed the principle of offset, on which they were, soon after the 
close of his mission, liquidated and paid. He obtained for our fisher- 
men the right of taking fish in the Bay of Fundy, which had been a 



544 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

subject of irritation and controversy between them and the provincial 
authorities for thirty years. He procured, at different times, the 
release from Van Diemen's Land of fifty or sixty of the misguided 
Americans who had embarked in the Canadian rebellion of 1838. It 
•will be remembered, however, as we have already observed, that a 
small part only of his correspondence has been brought before the 
public." 

He returned to Boston in the autumn of 1845. President Quincy 
having previously resigned the care of Harvard University, the friends 
of that institution united in the request that Mr. Everett would accept 
the presidency. He was inaugurated to this important station April 
30, 1846, when the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop gave this sentiment, at 
the public dinner: "This occasion, which witnesses the consecration 
of the highest genius of our country to its noblest service. President 
Everett continued closely devoted to the best interests of Harvard Col- 
lege, until he was compelled, by the state of his health, to resign the 
office ; and was succeeded by Jared Sparks, June 20, 1849. 

He has been, for several years, president of the American Antiqua- 
rian Society, vice-president of the American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences, a member of the Massachusetts Historical, New York His- 
torical, and New England Historical Genealogic Societies, and of the 
Antiquarian, Geographical, and Agricultural Societies, of Great 
Britain. 

It has been well said of this prince of orators, that, as long as clear 
and logic!\l reasoning wins the assent of the understanding, as long 
as true eloquence stirs the blood, as long as ease and grace of style 
approve themselves to the taste, so long will the compositions of 
Edward Everett be read and admired. He is, essentially, a rhetor- 
ician, and, unless France may furnish one or two exceptions, the most 
accomplished living. Whatever is requisite for rhetorical success, Mr. 
Everett possesses. To the most varied culture, he adds an immense 
and various learning, a memory equally retentive and prompt, great 
facility and felicity of expression, a ready power of association, and a 
Avit and humor which seem always to be ready when the occasion 
calls for them. No knight rode in the tournament arrayed in more 
glittering armor, continues a reviewer, or more dexterous in the use of 
his weapons. He has enough of imagination ; he has the quick and 
kindling sensibilities without which there is no eloquence ; and, above 
all, he shows a wonderfully quick perception of the state of mind in 



EDWARD EVERETT. 545 

those whom he addresses. He seems to have more than a double 
share of nerves in his fingers' ends. If there be truth in animal mag- 
netism, he ought to be one of the most impressible. He possesses that 
greatest of charms, an exquisite voice,— round, swelling, full of melody, 
particularly emotional ; naturally grave, and with a touch almost of 
melancholy in some of its cadences, but, like all such emotional voices, 
admirably suited to the expression of humor, and of rising from a 
touching pathos into the most stirring, thrilling and triumphant tones. 
There is such harmony between thought and style, manner and voice, 
that each gives force to the other, and all unite in one effect on the 
hearer. 

We know not how so well to compress a view of his services and 
character, as in the comprehensive language of Daniel Webster, at the 
Norfolk Agricultural Society's first anniversary meeting: "We all 
remember him, — some of us personally, — myself, certainly, with great 
interest in his deliberations in the Congress of the United States, 
to which he brought such a degree of learning, and ability, and elo- 
quence, as few equalled, and none surpassed. He administered, after- 
wards, satisfactorily to his fellow-citizens, the duties of the chair of the 
commonwealth. He then, to the great advantage of his country, went 
abroad. He was deputed to represent his government at the most im- 
portant court of Europe ; and he carried thither many qualities, most of 
them essential, and all of them ornamental and useful, to fill that high 
station. He had education and scholarship. He had a reputation at 
home and abroad. More than all, he had an acquaintance Avith the 
politics of the world, with the law of this country and of nations, with 
the history and policy of the countries of Europe. And how well 
these qualities enabled him to reflect honor upon the literature and 
character of his native land, not we only, but all the country and all 
the world know. He has performed this career, and is yet at such a 
period of life, that I may venture something upon the character and 
privilege of my countrymen, when I predict, that those who have 
known him long and know him now, those who have seen him and see 
him now, those who have heard him and hear him now, are very likely 
to think that his country has demands upon him for future efforts in its 
service." 

In addition to the speeches contained in the two volumes, Mr. 
, Everett is the author of some publications which have appeared sepa- 
rately : such as the Defence of Christianity, before alluded to ; an 
46* 



546 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Essay on the Claims of Citizens of the United States on Foreign Gov- 
ernments, which originally appeared in the North American Review ; 
a Life of General Stark, which appears as the first article in Mr. 
Sparks' Library of American Biography ; and a Biographical Memoir 
of Mr. Webster, forming the introduction to the new edition of his 
works. The speeches and reports of Mr. Everett in Congress, and his 
other political speeches and writings, would probably form a collection 
as large as that of his miscellaneous orations and speeches. Above a 
hundred articles are stated to have been written by him in the North 
American Review, and many in other journals. A hope was expressed, 
by Judge Story, in the letter above cited, that Mr. Everett would 
devote himself to the prcpai'ation of some elaborate work. It would 
appear, from the folloAving paragraph in the preface to the collection 
of his orations, that he has contemplated such an undertaking : 

"It is still my purpose, should my health permit, to offer to the 
public indulgence a selection from a large number of articles contrib- 
uted by me to the North American Review, and from the speeches, 
reports and official correspondence, prepared in the discharge of the 
duties of the several official stations Avhich I have had the honor to fill, 
at home and abroad. Nor am I wholly without hope that I shall be 
able to execute the more arduous project, to which I have devoted a 
good deal of time for many years, and towards which I have collected 
ample materials, — that of a systematic treatise on the modern law of 
nations, more especiallj^ in reference to those questions which have been 
discussed between the governments of the United States and Europe 
since the peace of 1783." On the decease of Daniel Webster, Mr. 
Everett became his successor as the Secretary of State in the national 
cabinet. 



GEORGE STILLMAN HILLARD. 

JULY 4, 1835. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

" It cannot be denied that we have been, for some time past, grow- 
ing indifferent to the celebration of this day," says Ilillard. " It was 
once hailed — and some who hear me can remember the time — with 
emotions too deep for words. The full hearts of men overflowed in 
the copious, gushing tears of childhood, and silently went up to heaven 
on the wings of praise. With their own sweat and their own blood 



GEORGE STILLMAN HILLARD. 547 

they had ■won their inheritance of peace, and they prized it accordingly. 
They were yet fresh from the great events which we read of as cold 
matters of history. The storm had passed by, but the swell of the 
troubled waters, rising in dark-heaving ridges, yet marked its duration 
and violence. All things then wore the beauty of novelty, and long 
possession had not dulled the sense of enjoyment. The golden light 
and glittering dews of the morning were above and around them. 
The wine of life sparkled and foamed in its freshly-poured cup. The 
lovely form of Liberty — to us so familiar — seemed like a bright 
vision, newly lighted upon this orb, from the starry courts of heaven ; 
and men hung, with the rapture of lovers, upon her inspiring glances 
and her animating smiles. But a half-century has rolled by, and a 
new generation has sprung up, who seem to think that their social and 
political privileges belong to them as naturally as air and light, and 
reflect as httle upon the way in which they came by them. The very 
magnitude of our blessings makes us insensible to their value, as the 
ancients supposed that the music of the spheres could not be heard, 
because it was so loud. The whole thing has become to us an old story. 
We have heard so much of the spirit of Seventy-six, and of the times 
that tried men's souls, that we are growing weary of the sound. The 
same feeling which made the Athenians tired of hearing Aristides called 
the just, makes us tired of hearing this called a glorious anniversary. 
But that man is little to be envied who cannot disentangle this occa- 
sion from the secondary and debasing associations which cling to it, — 
from its noise, its dust, its confusion, its dull orations and vapid toasts, 
— and, ascending at once into a higher region of thought and feeling, 
recognize the full, unimpaired force of that grand manifestation of 
moral power which has consecrated the day, A cold indifference to 
this celebration would, in itself, be a sign of ominous import to the for- 
tunes of the republic. He who greets the light of this morning with 
no throb of generous feeling is unworthy of a share in that heritage 
of glory which he claims by right of the blood which flows in his 
degenerate veins. That man, had he lived sixty years ago, would 
most surely have been found wanting to his country, in her hour of 
agony and struggle. Neither with tongue, nor purse, nor hand, would 
he have aided the most inspiring cause that ever appealed to a mag- 
nanimous breast. The same cast of character which makes one inca- 
pable of feehng an absorbing emotion, makes him incapable of heroic 
efforts and heroic sacrifices. He who cannot forget himself in admir- 



548 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

ing true greatness, can never be great; and the power of justly appre- 
ciating and heartily reverencing exalted merit is, in itself, an unequiv- 
ocal sign of a noble nature." 

George Stillman Hillard was born at Machias, Maine, Sept. 22, 
1808. His mother, a daughter of Gen. Stillman, died when he 
was an infant. He entered the Boston Latin School in 1822. His 
reminiscences of this schoolhouse, when it was demolished, in the year 
1844, as given in the Boston Book of 1850, are very impressive. 
" Certainly there were no intrinsic charms in the building to commend 
it to the affectionate remembrances of the boys. There never was any 
thing more bare, more tasteless, more uncouth," says Mr. Hillard. 
" The walls were the blankest, the seats the hardest, the desks the 
most inconvenient, that could be imagined. ' Going out ' was such a 
farce ! It Avas only exchanging a room with a roof for one without ; 
and, really, not big enough for a well-grown boy to swing a kitten in. 
But what did we care for all this 7 Youth and hope, and light hearts, 
are such mighty magicians ! How they gilded and colored those 
walls ! What more than regal tapestry they hung round their naked 
desolation ! Avith what roses they empurpled that dusty floor ! what 
beauty they shed around that narrow staircase ! " After enlarging on 
the advantage of a spacious public schoolhouse, and the fierce democ- 
racy of the scholars, Mr. Hillard continues : " There is no better illus- 
tration of Homer than the daily course of a public school. His heroes 
are grown-up boys. Like them, they speak out the whole truth. 
Like them, they call names. Like them, they weep honest tears, and 
laugh hearty laughs. When a boy chances to make an ass of himself, 
by word or deed, with what distinctness is the fact communicated to 
him ! He is never left to grope his Avay by inferences. Would that 
we could all be boys again, for one day ! What faces we should see 
in Court-street and State-street ! I pass daily, in the streets, some 
of my old school-fellows. To me they are always boys. I see the 
blooming looks of childhood through those strong and manly lines. 
And yet, how many are changed ! Such cold, money-getting eyes are 
turned upon me ! Some have protuberant waistcoats, and are growing 
almost gouty. Some have that compressed lip and furroAved brow 
which speak of suppressed grief, — of that unspoken sorroAV whose dark- 
ling current mines away the heart unseen. In some, the natural face 
is so changed that it looks like a mask. Some — many — are unal- 
tered. With them, the flavor of youth is unimpaired. Towards them, 



GEORGE STILLMAN HILLARD. 549 

the dark cloud has not been turned. With them, the boy has flowed 
into the man, as the brook expands into the river. As I pass by these 
early companions, with a cold nod of recognition, I have often longed 
to stop them, and say to them, ' Tell me, in ten words, your history. 
Where do you feel the pinch of life 7 ' " After allusions to his teacher 
and certain favorite schoolmates, Mr. Hillard writes of the higher 
advantages of culture now enjoyed. "We were compelled," says he, 
"to feed on such husks as the Gloucester Greek Grammar, Lem- 
priere's Dictionary, and a Delphin Virgil, with an onlo meandering 
along the margin, — things noAV as much out of date as wigs and three- 
cornered hats. I hear now in the school a sound of ' logical predi- 
cates,' as strange to my ears as nouns and verbs were to Jack Cade's. 
These fine lads are striding after us with seven-leagued boots." Mr. 
Hillard entered Harvard College in 1824, and to his latest life has 
never forgotten that period when, with heart full of fear and satchel 
full of books, he went to be examined before entering college, and 
there breathed the atmosphere of letters. We cannot forbear embody- 
ing here a very agreeable reminiscence of Mr. Hillard in regard to 
Edward Everett, who was a professor in the college when he became a 
student in that institution: "We recall, certainly with no complacent 
sense of superiority for the colder heart of manhood, the boyish enthu- 
siasm with Avhich we ourselves hung upon his accents in those days. 
He seemed to express and embody our dreams of an accomplished 
scholar and a finished man. To miss hearing him, whenever he 
addressed the public, was an annoyance which rose almost to the dig- 
nity of a misfortune. And to this day, we confess an incapacity to 
apply anything like an impartial judgment to his earher discourses, 
because they are so indissolubly associated with all the entrancements 
and illusions of youth. The fresh gales of the morning blow around 
as we read, and the dew of hope lies bright once more upon the untried 
world. To us, there are words between the lines. Faces, now unknown 
on earth, throng back upon us, and we listen again to voices locked in 
the rugged cell of death. In that Nestor-like disparaging comparison, 
so apt to come with coming years, we have sometimes asked ourselves, 
not merely whether there was any one now capable of awakening such 
enthusiasm in young natures, but whether the feehng still survived, — 
whether any fairy shapes of enchantment yet lingered in the morning 
twilight of life, unscared by the invading blaze of useful knowledge." 
At a college exhibition, in 1817, Mr. Hillard delivered an oration on the 



550 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Abuses of Genius ; and, -when a candidate, in 1831, for the degree of 
Master of Arts, he gave another oration, on the Dangers to -which the 
Minds of Young Men in our country are exposed. He was a student 
in the Law School of the college until he graduated, in 1832, when he 
read law with Charles P. Curtis, Esq., and was an attorney at the Suf- 
folk bar. ]Mr. Hillard is an eminent counsellor. In 1835 he married 
Susan T., daughter of the late Judge Howe, of Northampton. In 1845 
he was elected to the city Council, of which he continued a member until 
July, 1847, and was two years its president. He has been a represent- 
ative to the State Legislature, and was elected to the Senate in 1849. 

The manly and decided course of Mr. Hillard, in the State Senate, 
elicited from Hon. Daniel Webster, in the United States Senate, a warm 
response. In his remarks on legislative instructions to representatives 
in Congress, Mr. Webster made a happy allusion to Mr. Hillard, March 
7, 1850. He said it had become quite too frequent a practice for State 
Legislatures to present resolutions in Congress on all subjects, and to 
instruct us here on all subjects. " I took notice, with pleasure," said 
Mr. Webster, " of some remarks on this subject, made the other day, in 
the Senate of Massachusetts, by a young man of talent and of character, 
from whom the best hopes may be entertained. I mean Mr. Hillard. 
He told the Senate of Massachusetts that he would vote for no instruc- 
tions whatever, to be forwarded to members of Congress, nor for any 
resolutions to be offered, expressive of the sense of Massachusetts as 
to what their members of Congress ought to do. He said he saw no 
propriety in one set of public servants giving instructions and reading 
lectures to another set of public servants. To their own master they 
must stand or fall, and that master is their constituents." Mr. Webster 
further remarked : "If the question be one Avhich affects her interest, 
and at the same time affects the interests of all other States, I should 
no more regard her political wishes or instructions, than I would regard 
the wishes of a man Avho might appoint me an arbiter or referee to 
decide some important private right, and who might instruct me to 
decide in his favor." 

A journalist, in noticing the oration of Mr. Hillard on our national 
independence, remarks that "it is full of passages of the highest elo- 
quence, couched in language of a Tyrian dye." The clear fountain of 
such a mind as his should not cease to pour forth copious streams for 
intellectual refreshment. Who would not learn a lesson from his beau- 
tiful little moral of " A Patch on both Knees, and Gloves on " 7 He 



JEROME VAN CROWNINGSHIELD SMITH. 551 

is the purest classical scholar, of his generation, in the Boston bar. 
Who, that has heard his public lectures, can ever forget his silvery voice, 
its melodious intonations, and his graceful manner? He is perfect 
master of a soft and beautiful diction. His style is never entangled 
among the brambles of Carlyle, whose eccentric language and figures 
are, for the most part, as thorns to good taste ; and a critic, in allusion 
to his oration on the Relations of the Poet to his Age, says that the 
exquisite and flowing sentences seem allied to music, and touch the 
outward sense, as well as stir the fancy and excite the reflective powers. 
What Mr. Hillard felicitously remarks in regard to the orations of 
Edward Everett, may be justly applied to his own productions : "We 
do not find in them careless defects, redeemed by careless graces ; nor 
epigrammatic point; nor that picturesque Mosaic which is made up of 
chips of aphorisms and crystals of poetry ; nor those terse and racy 
expressions which take the wings of proverbs and fly over the land ; 
nor those inimitable felicities of phrase, which dart from the heart of 
genius like lightning from the cloud." 

The introduction and notes of Mr. Hillard to an edition of the 
Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser, in five volumes, published at 
Boston, in 1839, give him a name among the very few imperishable 
writers of New England. He says of the Faerie Queene that it is the 
delight of imaginative youth, and of men who have preserved, in man- 
hood, the freshness of early feeling, and ceased not to reverence the 
dreams of their youth. He who, at forty, reads the Faerie Queene 
with as much delight as at twenty, is pretty sure to be a wise and a 
happy man. 

Mr. Hillard is author of a Memoir of Henry R. Cleveland, and a 
Memoir of Capt. John Smith. His twelve admirable lectures for the 
Lowell Institute, on the character and writings of John Milton, should 
be published in a permanent form, as they are identified with his own 
literary history. 



JEROME VAN CROWNINGSHIELD SMITH. 

JULY 4, 1835. FOR THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH BOSTON. 

Was born at Conway, N. H., July 20, 1800, and was son of Rich- 
ard Ransom Smith, a respectable physician ; and his mother was Sarah 



552 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Cummings, of Hollis, N. II. Had a degree from Brown University, 
in 1818 ; and M. D. at Williams College, where, in 1822, he was 
elected Professor of Anatomy and Physiology, in the medical depart- 
ment, located at Pittsfield, under the name of the Berkshire Medical 
Institution, which, by an act of the Legislature, became an independent 
institution. He married Eliza Maria, daughter of Sheriff Henry Clin- 
ton Brown, of Pittsfield, Mass. He was a student in surgery under 
the eminent Dr. William Ingalls, of Boston. Dr. Smith had a genius 
for statuary, and executed, with artistical skill, busts of Bishop Fitz- 
patrick, of Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, Bishop Eastburn, and others. 

Dr. Smith established the Boston Medical Intelligencer, in quarto, 
and was the editor. It had long been known as the Boston Medical 
and Surgical Journal, Avhen it assumed the octavo form. He was its 
conductor through more than forty volumes, and it is a good index of 
his mind. He prepared valuable notes to a Boston edition of Cooper's 
Surgery. He was editor of the Boston Weekly News Letter, in two 
volumes octavo, pubhshed in 1825-26, — an excellent local historical 
chronicle, scarcely extant, as the copies were mostly destroyed at a 
great fire in Court-street, at the same time when a part of the manu- 
script of Gov. Winthrop's History was also destroyed. He prepared a 
History of the American Indians, published anonymously, by Clark. 
He revised an English reprint of the Mother's Medical Guide, with 
additions. Dr. Smith was author of a practical treatise on the Econ- 
omy, Habits and Culture, of the Honey-bee ; and of the Revelations 
of Mrs. Fox, an amusing satire on Animal Magnetism, with caricatures 
by Johnston. He was editor of six volumes of Scientific Tracts, and 
of Memoirs of Andrew Jackson, when first a candidate for the presi- 
dency. One of his best productions is the Natural History of the 
Fishes of Massachusetts. His Class-book of Anatomy, with engrav- 
ings, exhibits a mind well furnished with elementary science. As 
editor of the American Medical Pocket-book, he aided medical science. 
His contributions to Bowen's Picture of Boston constitute the most 
valuable part of that work. He has done much for the Boston Alma- 
nac. Dr. Smith has kept a diary of historical and general information, 
regarding Boston, for a period of more than twenty-five years, record- 
ing facts of municipal history not elsewhere to be gathered. It will 
be a valuable legacy to the Massachusetts Historical Society. Dr. 
Smith has been a man of untiring industry. 

In 1826 Dr. Smith was elected the Port Physician for Boston, in 



JEROME VAN CROWNINGSIIIELD SMITH. 553 

which capacity he vaccinated more persons, perhaps, than any other 
physician in New England. In 1837 he was elected to the State Leo-- 
islature, and succeeded in effecting an alien law regarding foreign pau- 
pers, for the collection of a capitation tax on foreigners arriving at any 
port in Massachusetts ; which tax was devoted to defraying the expenses 
of poor and sick emigrants, until the declaration of the United States 
Supreme Court, at Washington, deciding that the collection of funds was 
unconstitutional. Dr. Smith has been a useful member of the school 
committee, and was a justice of the peace. In 1848 he was again 
elected to the Legislature, and was chairman of a special joint com- 
mittee on alien paupers. He prepared a statistical document on the 
present condition and future influence that the great influx of for- 
eigners is destined to exercise over the condition of our country. In 
the same year, and in 1852, he was a candidate for the mayoralty of 
Boston. He was succeeded, in the quarantine department, July 1849, 
by Dr. Henry G. Clark. No man has been more familiar with the 
nature of small-pox and kindred loathsome infections, or more zeal- 
ously devoted to the cause, than the subject of this memoir. 

Dr. Smith was an early advocate for the universal introduction of pure 
water at the expense of the city of Boston ; and delivered an address at 
the Masonic Temple, Feb. 5, 1834, before the Massachusetts Charitable 
Mechanic Association, and in presence of the city authorities, urging 
reasons why pure water should be adopted by the city, and proposing a 
schedule for the supply of one hundred thousand persons from Jamaica 
Pond. The last, and not least, important service of Dr. Smith, was in 
the gathering of the sons of New Hampshire at the great hall of the 
Fitchburg depot, Nov. 7, 1849. It was on his invitation that a few 
friends met at his residence. No. 12 Bowdoin-street. and in the base- 
ment-room decided, Oct. 9, 1848, to attempt the first universal gath- 
ering of the whole brotherhood of a State, in the United States. He 
has been a frequent lecturer on scientific subjects. His extensive eru- 
dition, and remarkably bland and social manners, render his society 
highly captivating. In the spring of 1850 he made the tour of Europe 
and Asia, and was a constant contributor to Boston journals during his 
travels. He is author of a Pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine. 

The oration of Dr. Smith on our national birthday is almost the 

only purely historical performance in this collection. It relates the 

ancient history of Mattapan Neck, the noble feat of Washington on the 

heights of Dorchester, and its annexation to Boston by the annexation 

47 



554 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of Soutli Boston Bridge, in 1804. He remarks that the preservation 
of Boston, and the political redemption of North America, Avas effected 
on Dorchester Heights. 

We cannot resist the pleasure of alluding to an impressive incident 
that occurred during the delivery of this oration. There was present 
in the audience a venerable person, then supposed to be one hundred 
years of age, who was addressed by the orator, on rising from his seat, 
supported on one side by Col. Henry Purkitt, and by Maj. Benjamin 
Russell on the other side of him, amid the whole audience, standing 
and gazing with intense interest. It appeared afterwards, however, 
that the aged veteran had mistaken his age; as, according to the 
Boston records, he was born August 25, 1742, being ninety-three 
years of age. A Memoir of George Robert Twelves Hewes, one of the 
Boston Tea Party of 1773, was published, written by B. B. Thacher. 
He died at Little Herkimer, Herkimer county, N. Y., Nov. 5, 1840, 
aged ninety-eight. Dr. Smith said : 

" Nearly the last of that fearless company of patriots who consti- 
tuted the celebrated Boston Tea Party is now before the audience, — 
the venerable relic of a century. This is Mr. George Robert Twelves 
Hewes, Avho will be one hundred years old on the 5th day of the coming 
September, formerly a citizen of Boston, — and Avho, on the verge of 
eternity, earnestly desired to revisit the early scenes of youth, that his 
eyes might be gladdened with objects in which they once delighted. 
How wonderful ! One hundred years of age ! — yet in the full posses- 
sion of his faculties, and susceptible of all the enjoyments and pleasures 
of social intercourse. 

"Let the youth who have this rare opportunity of gazing upon the 
features of this extraordinary, — this last man, as it were, — remem- 
ber the circumstance, that in their old age they may say to their chil- 
dren, they saw, on the 4th of July, 1835, a man who assisted in throw- 
ing into the ocean three cargoes of tea, in order to resist the exactions 
of foreign taskmasters. And may the spirit which animated him on 
that remarkable occasion live in them and their posterity, while home 
has endearments, and true patriotism exists in the land which gave 
them birth ! Venerable old man ! May Heaven's choicest blessings 
rest upon your frosted head ! Since you were born, three hundred 
millions of human beings have probably gone down to the grave ; and 
yet you are spared, by Divine Providence, to be a living monitor to us, 
to cherish our precious institutions, and to transmit them unimpaired 



TnEOPHILUS FISKE. — JOSEPH STORY. 655 

to succeeding generations. Though you come to the land of your 
childhood leaning upon a staff, and feeling your dependence on the 
charities of a selfish world, you are surrounded by friends who feel that 
their prosperity is referable to the privations, sacrifices and personal 
labors, of you and your brave associates in arms. May your last days 
be peaceful, calm, and happy ; and with your last breath, I beseech 
you, invoke a blessing on our common country ! 

' May your last days in one smooth channel run, 
And end in pleasure, as they first begun.' " 



THEOPHILUS FISKE. 

JULY 4, 1835. FOR THE TRADES UNION. 

Was born at Wilton, N. H., and married, at Cazcnovia, N. Y., May, 
1851, Susan, daughter of Hon. Justin Dwincttc. The subject of Mr. 
Fiske, in the oration at the head of this article, was on Capital against 
Labor. It was delivered at Julien Hall. At this period he was editor 
of the Workingman's Advocate. He removed to Virginia, in 1841, 
and published the Political Reformer. He entered the ministry, and 
was for a period the pastor of a Universalist church in Philadelphia ; 
has since become a practical biologist, or mesmerizcr. 



JOSEPH STORY. 



OCT. 15, 1835. EULOGY ON CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL. FOR THE SUFFOLK 
BAR. 

In the eulogy before us, Justice Story thus expressively enlarges 
on the capacity of Marshall as the expositor of constitutional law : "It 
was here that he stood confessedly without a rival, whether we regard 
his thorough knowledge of our civil and political history, his admira- 
ble powers of illustration and generalization, his scrupulous integi'ity 
and exactness in interpretation, or his consummate skill in moulding 
his own genius into its elements, as if they had constituted the exclu- 



556 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

sive study of his life. His proudest epitaph may be written in a single 
line, — Here lies the Expounder of the Constitution of the United 
States. I am aware of the force of this language, and have no desire 
to qualify it. The task Avhich he had to perform was far different from 
that which belongs to the debates in other places, where topics may be 
chosen, and expressed or avoided, as the occasion may require. In 
the forum, there is no choice of topics to be urged, there are no pas- 
sions to be addressed, there are no interests to be courted. Critical 
inquiries, nice discriminations, severe inductions, and progressive dem- 
onstrations, are demanded upon the very points on which the contro- 
vers}'- hinges. Every objection must be met and sifted ; and answered, 
not by single flashes of thought, but by the closest logic, reasoning out 
every successive position with a copious and convincing accuracy. 

" Let it be remembered, that when Chief Justice Marshall first took 
his seat on the bench, scarcely more than two or three questions of con- 
stitutional law had ever engaged the attention of the Supreme Court. 
As a science, constitutional law was then confessedly new ; and that 
portion of it, in an especial manner, Avhich may be subjected to judicial 
scrutiny, had been explored by foAV minds, even in the most general 
forms of inquiry. Let it be remembered, that, in the course of his 
judicial life, numerous questions of a practical nature, and involving 
interests of vast magnitude, have been constantly before the Court, 
where there was neither guide nor authority, but all was to be wrought 
out by general principles. Let it be remembered, that texts which 
scarcely cover the breadth of a finger have been since interpreted, 
explained, limited and adjusted, by judicial commentaries, which are 
now extended into volumes. Let it be remembered, that the highest 
learning, genius and eloquence, of the bar, have been employed to 
raise doubts and fortify objections ; that State sovereignties have stood 
impeached in their legislation, and rights of the most momentous nature 
have been suspended upon the issue ; that, under such circumstances, 
the infirmities of false reasoning, the glosses of popular appeal, the 
scattered fire of irregular and inconclusive assertion, and the want of 
comprehensive powers of analysis, had no chance to escape the instant 
detection of the profession. Let these things, I say, be remembered, 
and who does not at once perceive that the task of expounding the 
constitution, under such circumstances, required almost superhuman 
abilities ? It demanded a mind in which vast reaches of thought should 
be combined with patience of investigation, sobriety of judgment, fear- 



JOSEPH STORY, 557 

lessness of consequences, and mastery of the principles of interpreta- 
tion, to an extent rarely belonging to the most gifted of our race. 

" How this gigantic task of expounding the constitution was met and 
executed by Chief Justice Marshall, let the profession — let the public 
— decide. Situated as I am, I may not speak for others upon such an 
occasion. But, having sat by his side during twenty-four years ; hav- 
ing witnessed his various constitutional labors ; having heard many of 
those exquisite judgments, the fruits of his own unassisted meditations, 
from which the Court has derived so much honor, — ct nos aUquod 
no7nenqtie decusqiie gesslmus, — I confess myself unable to find lan- 
guage sufficiently expressive of my admiration and reverence of his 
transcendent genius. While I have followed his footsteps, — not as I 
could have wished, but as I have been able, at humble distances, — in 
his splendid judicial career, I have constantly felt the liveliest gratitude 
to that beneficent Providence which created him for the age, that his 
talents might illustrate the law, his virtues adorn the bench, and his 
judgments establish the perpetuity of the constitution of the country. 
Such is my humble tribute to his memory. His salte?n accnmalcm 
donls, et fungar inani munerc. The praise is sincere, though it 
may be perishable. Not so his fame. It will flow on to the most dis- 
tant ages. Even if the constitution of his country should perish, his 
glorious judgments will still remain to instruct mankind, until liberty 
shall cease to be a blessing, and the science of jurisprudence shall vanish 
from the catalogue of human pursuits." 

Joseph Story, a son of Dr. Elisha Story, was born at INIarblehead, 
Mass., Sept. 18, 1779. His fiither was a native of Boston, an active 
actor in the Tea Party of 1773, and a sui'geon in the army of the Rev- 
olution. His primary education was received in the academy of his 
native town, under the care of the Rev. Dr. Harris, and Michael Walsh, 
the noted author of the Mercantile Arithmetic. He graduated at Har- 
vard College, in 1798, on which occasion his theme was a poem on 
" Reason." He pursued the study of law with Chief Justice Samuel 
Sewall, of Marblehead, where he attempted to read Coke on Littleton, 
in the folio edition, thatched over with those manifold annotations which 
cause the best-trained lawyer "to gasp and stare." As he strove in 
vain to force his w^eary way through its rugged page, he was filled with 
despair. It was but for a moment. The tears poured from his eyes 
upon the open book. Those tears, says Sumner, were his precious bap- 
tism into the learning of the law. From that time forth, he persevered 
47* 



558 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

with confirmed ardor and confidence, without let or hindrance. He 
pursued his legal studies at Salem, under Judge Samuel Putnam. In 
1801 he was admitted to the Essex bar, and it is said was the only 
avowed Democrat at that period among the lawyers of that county. 
This obstacle to his success soon gave way to his attainments and 
peculiar tact for his profession. 

He has often avowed that literature was his earliest passion, which 
yielded to the stern requirements of duty beckoning him to the toils of 
professional life ; and those who knew him best cannot forget that this 
sentiment pervaded his days, remarks Sumner, as with the perfume of 
flowers. Being ardent in poetic fancy, and of a brilliant imagination, 
his leisure time was devoted to the weaving a poem, published in 1804, 
on the Power of Solitude, the idea of which was conceived by the sen- 
timental work of Zimmerman. A collection of his poetical efi'usions 
are gathered in the second edition of this volume. This production, 
though a favorite effort of the author, as it is related, like the Paradise 
Regained to the taste of Milton, never heightened the power of his 
influence as a poet, and it has sloAvly passed away from the bookseller's 
shelves, as a thing of mediocrity ; yet the gushings of a warm heart 
stream down its pages. It has been expressively said of perishable 
poetry, that it is unnoticed by men, and abhorred by the gods. 

In 1804 Mr. Stoi-y delivered at Salem a Democratic oration on our 
national independence. In allusion to Jefierson, he says, in this ora- 
tion, " The fame of our illustrious administration is not left to the per- 
ishable breath of man. It is recorded in deeds which shall descend to 
posterity, and give immortality to national gratitude. Jefferson has not 
lived for his own age. The hand which traced the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence may crumble in the dust, but the labors of thirty years 
devoted to the pubhc service have insured a title to a glorious perpe- 
tuity." So ardent was he in political zeal, that he engaged in a per- 
sonal rencounter, it is related, with Gen. Haskett Derby, in one of the 
streets of Salem. In 1805 he was elected to the State Legislature, of 
which he was a member until his election to Congress, in 1809, where 
he served only during that session, when he declined being a candidate. 
In 1810 he was again elected to the State Legislature. In 1811 Mr. 
Story was chosen Speaker of the House, and resigned Jan. 12, 1812. 
When in the State Legislature, he exerted a controlling influence on 
judicial reform, religious taxation, and other objects. Mr. Story has the 
traditionary reputation of originating the project of newly forming the 



JOSEPH STORY. 559 

senatorial districts, for the purpose of insuring a Democratic majority 
in the Senate. It is highly probable, however, that the Hon. Samuel 
Dana, -who was President of the Senate in that session, was the orig- 
inator of this measure, which was caricatured in the Boston Gazette of 
March, 1812, by an engraving, executed by E. Tisdale, a miniature 
painter, representing the new order of districting in the form of an 
unsightly skeleton, and was first exhibited in the Centinel office. 
Washington Allston, calling there Avith James Ogilvie, a lecturer on 
oratory, and noticing the figure, remarked to Russell, the editor, 
" What an odd-looking creature is this ! it looks like a salamander."' 
On which Ogilvie, quick as light, rej^lies, "Why, let it be named 
Gerrymander, for the governor." We relate this on the authority of 
Dr. Joseph Palmer, who had the statement from Benjamin Russell. 
This impolitic districting effected a reaction, giving the Federal party 
a decided majority in the Legislature ; the districts were altered to 
their former order, and the Federalists had the ascendency for twelve 
succeeding years. The history of the Gerrymander is a beacon for 
political intolerance. 

When in Congress, Mr. Story proposed an increase of the navy, 
and exerted every nerve for the repeal of Jefferson's Embargo Act, 
which was effected ; and Jefferson said, "All this I ascribe to one 
Story, a pseudo Republican." Mr. Story said, in a letter written in 
1812, "Mr. Jefferson has honored me, by attributing to my influence 
the repeal of the Embargo Act. I freely admit that I did all I could 
to accomplish it, though I returned home before the act passed. The 
very eagerness with which the repeal was supported by a majority of 
the Republican party ought to have taught Mr. Jefferson that it was 
already considered by them as a miserable and mischievous failure." 
Mr. Story, after this, became greatly dissatisfied with the Democratic 
party, and favored the Republican party, but not with so much zeal, 
preferring, with singleness of heart, a devotion to his profession. It is 
evident that the striking disparity between the generous policy of 
Washington and the severe and exclusive measures of Jefferson decided 
the discerning mind of Story to an abandonment of Democracy. In- 
deed, Justice Story stated, in a letter dated Jan. 23, 1831 : "I was 
always, at all times, a firm believer in the doctrines of Washington ; and 
an admirer of his conduct and principles, during his whole administra- 
tion, though they were to me matters of history. I read and examined 
his principles, and have made them, in a great measure, the rule and 



560 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

guide of my life. I was, and always have been, a lover, a devoted 
lover, of the constitution of the United States, and a friend to the Union 
of the States. I never wished to bring the government to a mere 
confederacy of States, but to preserve the power of the general govern- 
ment, given by all the States, in full exercise for their protection and 
preservation." 

Mr. Story was married, in 1805, to Mary Lynde, daughter of Rev. 
Thomas Fitch Oliver, an Episcopal clergyman of Salem. She Avas a 
lady of rare literary knowledge, and warm aifection, who died in a 
short period ; and he married a second time, — Sarah Waldo Wetmore, 
of Boston, Aug. 28, 1808, by whom he had all his children. 

The station of an associate judge of the U. S. Supreme Judicial 
Court was vacated, November, 1811, by the decease of Hon. Wil- 
liam Gushing, of Scituate, who had occupied it from the organization 
of the government. It was offered to John Quincy Adams, who 
declined. President Madison then nominated Joseph Story, who was 
at that time only thirty-two years of age, — an instance unprecedented 
in this republic, or of Great Britain, of such a youthful appointment. 
His fervent love of truth, and sound legal learning, evinced that never 
was a measure more amply justified in the result. In 1829 Justice 
Story was appointed professor of the Dane Law School of Harvard 
University, and settled at Cambridge. In 1820 he was a delegate to 
the convention for revising the State constitution, where he exerted his 
powers to secure the independence of the judiciary. 

In the excellent Memoir of the Life and Times of Judge Story, 
edited by his son, — a work of inestimable value, especially to the law 
student, — appears a relation of his literary and domestic habits, which 
we herewith take pleasure to insert : 

"From the time this work [Commentaries on Bailments] was 
completed, my father had been engaged upon his ' Commentaries on 
the Constitution of the United States ; ' and, towards the latter part of 
the year 1832, he completed the manuscript, and began to print, hav- 
ing been only about a year and a half in writing the three volumes of 
this learned and elaborate work. When it is considered that this was 
accomplished in the intervals between his double duties as professor 
and judge, — each of which would seem to be sufficient to occupy, if 
not to exhaust, an intellect even of energy and power, — his fertility 
of mind, and great resources, as well as his power of enduring contin- 
uous labor, appear extraordinary. During the period occupied in the 



JOSEPH STORY. 561 

writing of these Commentaries on the Constitution, three months of his 
time had been spent in attendance on the Supreme Court at Washing- 
ton, where he had borne his full part in preparing the judgments of the 
court ; he had also attended all his circuits in Maine, New Hampshire, 
Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and written the opinions of that year, 
reported in the first volume of Sumner's Reports ; he had corrected 
and printed his Commentaries on Bailments, carefully examining every 
proof and revise ; ho had lectured from two to three hours, every other 
day, in the Law School, while he was at Cambridge ; he had attended 
at the moot-courts ; and, besides all this, he had written the address at 
the consecration of Mount Auburn, the notice of Chief Justice Parker, 
had conducted an extensive correspondence, and had been ill nearly a 
month. 

" The secrets by which he was enabled to accomplish so much in so 
short a time were, systematic industry, variation of labor, and concen- 
tration of mind. He was never idle. He knew the value of those 
odds and ends of time which are so often thrown away as useless, and 
he turned them all to good account. His time and his work were 
apportioned, so that there was always something ready for the waste 
time to be expended upon. He varied his labor, never overworking 
himself on one subject, never straining his faculties too long in one 
direction, but recreating himself by change of occupation. ' Le 
changement d'etude est toujoiirs rdachement j)our moit^ said 
D' Agucseau of himself ; and so my father found it. He never suf- 
fered himself to become nervous or excited in his studies ; but, the 
moment that one employment began to irritate him, he abandoned it 
for another, which should exercise different faculties. When he worked, 
it was with his whole mind, and with a concentration of all his powers 
upon the subject in hand. Listlessness and half attention bring little 
to pass. What was worth doing at all, he thought worth doing well. 

" And here it may be interesting to state his personal habits during 
the day. He arose at seven in summer, and at half-past seven in 
winter, — never earlier. If breakfast was not ready, he went at once 
to his library, and occupied the interval, whether it was five minutes 
or fifty, in writing. When the family assembled, he was called, and 
breakfasted with them. After breakfast, he sat in the drawing-room, 
and spent from a half to three-quarters of an hour in reading the 
newspapers of the day. He then returned to his study, and wrote 
until the bell sounded for his lecture at the Law School. After Ice- 



562 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

turing for two, and sometimes three hours, he returned to his study, 
and AYorked until two o'clock, when he was called to dinner. To his 
dinner (which, on his part, was always simple) he gave an hour ; and 
then again betook himself to his study, where, in the winter time, lie 
worked as long as the daylight lasted, unless called away by a visiter, 
or obliged to attend a moot-court. Then he came down and joined the 
family, and work for the day was over. Tea came in at about seven 
o'clock, — and how lively and gay was he then, chatting over the most 
familiar topics of the day, or entering into deeper currents of con- 
versation Avith equal ease ! All of his law he left up stairs in his 
library ; he was here the domestic man in his home. During th« 
evening he received his friends, and he was rarely without company ; 
but, if alone, he read some new publication of the day, — the reviews, 
a novel, an English newspaper ; sometimes corrected a proof-sheet, 
listened to music, or talked with the family, or, what was very com- 
mon, played a game of backgammon w'ith my mother. This Avas the 
only game of the kind that he liked. Cards and chess he never 
played. 

" In the summer afternoons he left his library towards twilight, and 
might always be seen by the passer-by sitting with his family under 
the portico, talking or reading some light pamphlet or newspaper, often 
surrounded by friends, and making the air ring with his gay laugh. 
This, with the interval occupied by tea, would last until nine o'clock. 
Generally, also, the summer afternoon was varied, three or four times 
a week, in fair weather, by a drive with my mother of about an hour 
through the surrounding country, in an open chaise. At about ten or 
half-past ten he retired for the night, never varying a half-hour from 
this time." 

Sir James Mackintosh has said of his Decisions of Admiralty and 
Prize, that they were justly admired by all cultivators of the Law of 
Nations. Story's opinions have often been cited as authority in West- 
minster Hall ; and the Chief Justice of England has made the remark- 
able declaration, with regard to a point on which Story had differed 
from the Queen's Bench, that his opinion would at least neutralize the 
effect of the English decision, and induce any one to consider the ques- 
tion as an open one. In a debate in the House of Lords, he was char- 
acterized, by Lord Campbell, as greater than any law writer of which 
England could boast, or which she could bring forward, since the days 
of Blackstone. 



JOSEPH STORY. 563 

At a meeting of the Suflfolk bar, Sept. 12, 1845, occasioned by the 
decease of Hon. Judge Storj, which occurred on the 10th instant, 
Daniel Webster remarked that Justice Story has, in some measure, 
repaid a debt which America owes to England ; and the mother can 
receive from the daughter, without humiliation and without envy, the 
reversed hereditary transmission from the child to the parent. By the 
comprehensiveness of his mind, and by his vast and varied attainments, 
he was best fitted to compare the codes of different nations, and com- 
prehend the results of such research. And Judge Davis, speaking of 
his legal opinions and well-digested commentaries, remarked, at this 
meeting, that they are a treasure for his country, and of civilized man 
in ever}'- region, and will be gratefully admired and cherished so long 
as the light and love of all good learning shall remain unextinguished. 

We cannot withhold the warm tribute of Charles Sumner, who was 
long a devoted student at the feet of our profound jurist, and had 
cherished towards him a strong affection : "It has been my fortune to 
see, or to know, the chief jurists of our times, in the classical countries 
of jurisprudence, France and Germany. I remember well the pointed 
and effective manner and style of Dupin, in the delivery of one of his 
masterly opinions in the highest court of France. I recall the pleasant 
conversation of Pardcssus, to whom commercial and maritime law is 
under a larger debt, perhaps, than to any other mind, while he descanted 
on his favorite theme. I wander, in fancy, to the gentle presence of 
him, with flowing silver locks, who was so dear to Germany, — Thibaut, — 
the expounder of the Roman law, and the earnest and successful advo- 
cate of a just scheme for the reduction of the unwritten law to the cer- 
tainty of a written text. From Heidelberg I fly to Berlin, where I 
listen to the grave lectures and mingle in the social circle of Savigny, 
so stately in person and peculiar in countenance, whom all the conti- 
nent of Europe delight to honor ; — but my heart and my judgment, 
untravelled, fondly turn, with new love and admiration, to my Cam- 
bridge teacher and friend. Jurisprudence has many arrows in her 
golden quiver, but where is one to compare with that which is now 
spent on the earth? " In all coming time, our courts of justice will 
concede to Joseph Story the enviable fame of such liberal interpreta- 
tions of the common law, and enlightened judicial decisions, that we 
hope what Vincentio says, in Measure for Measure, regarding the stat- 
utes and decrees of Austria, may never be said of this republic : 



564 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

" We have strict statutes, and most biting laws. 
The needful bits and curbs for headstrong steeds. 
Which for these fourteen years we have let sleep. 
Now, as fond ftxthers, 

Having bound up the threatening twigs of birch, 
Only to stick it in their children's sight, 
For terror, not to use, — in time, the rod 
Becomes more mocked than feared, — so our decrees, 
Dead to infliction, to themselves are dead ; 
.Ajid Liberty plucks Justice by the nose." 



HENRY WILLIS KINSMAN. 

JULY i, 183G. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES ' 

Was born at Portland ; graduated at Dartmouth College, in 1822 ; 
read law with Daniel Webster, and became his partner in practice, in 
1827. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Willis, Esq., of 
Haverhill, Mass. He was a member of the Ancient and Honorable 
Artillery Company, in 1830 ; was captain of the City Guards ; was a 
member of the Boston city Council in 1832, and was of the State 
Senate in 1841. He was the collector for Newburyport in 1841, and 
was again appointed by President Taylor, in 1849, to the same station. 



DAVID HENSHAW. 

JULY i, 1836. FOR CITIZENS FROM ALL PARTS OF THE STATE, AT FANEUIL 
HALL. 

In this bold and manly performance, our orator says: "We are 
wont to look back and compare our republic with the ancient republics 
of Greece and Rome. The constitutions of those renowned nations, in 
turn the mistresses of the world, were raised upon foundations so rad- 
ically different from our own, surrounded by circumstances and influ- 
ences so foreign from those of the present age, that they can no more 
be compared with us, than we Avith the Chinese. Our government is, 
sul generis, the first of its race. It sprung into life from the voice 
of the people, as Minerva sprang from the head of Jupiter. We can 



DAVID HENSHAW. 565 

&A\y measure our progress by comparing the different epochs of our 
own history. By this measure, we shall find that we have made great 
advances. We shall perceive that, as Democratic doctrines have pre- 
vailed, — as the Democratic party has held the reins of power, — so 
has our progress in free principles been accelerated. The pomp and 
stateliness of aristocratic forms, under their rule, have yielded to a 
simpler garb, and a more civil deportment, in your public functionaries. 
The moneyed aristocracy was curbed during the administration of Jeffer- 
son ; and the shackles upon the press, which the preceding administra- 
tion, regardless of the constitutional restrictions, had imposed, as the 
most important step in their march to arbitrary power, were taken off 
in Jefferson's time. The human mind was emancipated. Mental 
slavery, so far as the laws of the United States could apply to it, was 
abolished. The freedom of action, as well as the field of thought, was 
enlarged. New force was given to the will of the majority, exercised 
within constitutional limits. The whole coui'se of the national govern- 
ment, which was previously fast verging towards monarchical princi- 
ples, w^as changed, and the ship of State put upon ' the republican 
tack.' Time brought with it new abuses. The rigid Democracy of 
Jefferson had given place, in the government, to loose political princi- 
ples. A moneyed aristocracy had planted itself in a fortress, Avhich it 
had occupied and strengthened for half a generation, which it thought 
impregnable, and by means of which it fondly hoped to rule the coun- 
try. The whole system of our national government was rapidly tending 
to a complete change. 

" The government was levying taxes to be spent on internal improve- 
ments. It was draining the people of the old States, who had made 
their own roads and bridges and canals, to pay for like improvements 
in the newer sections of the Union. It was taxing the whole commu- 
nity, under a ruinous tariff, for the purpose of fostering or regulating 
the labor of a class. It was rapidly absorbing the power of the States, 
and suffocating the liberties of the people. While retrograding from 
just principles at home, the government was fast losing its character 
abroad. Our despoiled citizens called in vain for redress from the 
spoiler, for protection from their country. Gen. Jackson took the helm. 
He was called into power by the spontaneous votes, the unbought suf- 
frages, of the people. On him the hopes of the nation reposed, lie 
has not disappointed them. He has redeemed his pledges. He has 
far surpassed the most sanguine anticipation of the people. The 
48 



566 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

veto upon the Maysville Road Bill closed the ^vastcful drain, from the 
public treasury for internal improvements. The principle of reducing 
the taxes to the wants of the government has been fully recognized. 
The national debt has been extinguished ; the spoiler has been called 
to his reckoning, and compelled to pay for his robberies. The charac- 
ter of the country has been elevated in the eyes of the whole civilized 
world ; and every American abroad moves in more safety, and is treated 
with more respect. The moneyed monster, with its hydra heads, which 
designed to crush and strangle our liberties in its venomous folds, has 
been prostrated by the blow of this modern Hercules. But its heads 
are not yet seared. The attention of the people has been aroused to the 
enormities of the paper-system, — to the evils of an excess of credit 
currency; and, under the auspices of this administration, they are 
enlarging the specie basis, and resuming the use of hard money. Gold, 
which for a generation had disappeared from view, — Avhich had never 
met the eye of the younger portion of the community, — is now getting 
into circulation. Gen. Jackson has done more than any man living to 
bring back the government to the republican path, to protect our 
commerce and extend its bounds, to elevate the national character 
abroad, to restore the rights of the people at home, to confine the 
action of the national government to its legitimate objects, and to keep 
it within the prescribed limits of the constitution. His administration 
Avill occupy the brightest page of American history. He will illustrate 
the age in which he lives. His fame will commingle with the fxme of 
Washington, and after time Avill rank them together, as the fathers of 
their country, the benefactors of the human race." 

David Henshaw was born at Henshaw Place, in Leicester, April 2, 
1791. His grandflither, David, was the son of Daniel Henshaw, who 
married Elizabeth Bass ; and was born at Boston, August 19, 1744, in 
Bainsford-lane, now Harrison-avenue, in the house adjoining the birth- 
place of Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin. His father w^as the youngest of 
fourteen children, and settled at Leicester, where he died, May 22, 
1808, aged sixty-three years. David, the flxther of the subject of this 
outline, was married, by his fiither, Daniel Henshaw, Esq., to Mary, 
daughter of Nathan Sargent, Feb. 17, 1773. Their fifth son, David, 
was educated at Leicester Academy, when he was apprenticed, in Bos- 
ton, to the house of Dix & Brinlcy, druggists. During this period, 
he devoted his leisure to the acquirement of useful knowledge, perfect- 
ins: his mind in science and several languages. In 1814 he became a 



DAVID HENSIIAW. 567 

partner in this business "with his brothers and David Rice. In 182G 
Mr. Henshaw was elected to the State Senate, for Suffolk. In 1828 
the Legislature created a board of internal improvement ; and Mr. 
Henshaw, though not of the dominant party, was elected to that board. 
He was one of the earliest advocates for the establishment of railroads, 
and was highly efficient in forwarding the Worcester Railroad, viewing 
it as the pioneer of the line to Albany, over which the western trade 
would roll to Boston. He continued of this board until it was dis- 
solved. He was elected a director of the Worcester Railroad from its 
foundation until this period. 

In 1830 Mr. Henshaw was appointed, by President Jackson, to the 
collectorship of the port of Boston ; and was a director, also, of the 
United States Bank. He resigned the office of collector in 1836 ; but, 
at the request of the president, it was withdrawn. He again resigned 
it, on the accession of President Van Buren; but, on request, he 
retained the station until he was succeeded by George Bancroft. On 
retiring from this office, the officers of the revenue presented him a 
chastely wrought silver pitcher, after a model of one taken from Her- 
culaneum, by Jones, of Boston, with a silver stand, or salver, on which 
was inscribed, " To David HenshaAv : From the officers of the revenue 
associated with him while Collector of the port of Boston. A token 
of their esteem. Feb. 3, 1838." A very flattering letter was also 
sent, signed by John Crowningshield and fifty-two others. In that 
year he retired to the paternal estate at Leicester. In 1839 he was 
elected representative by his native town. It is related that he made 
a powerful argument in favor of a liberal construction in all cases of 
contested election. He was a tenacious advocate for the annexation of 
Texas. On the accession of John Tyler to the presidency, Mr. Hen- 
shaw was appointed the Secretary of the Navy. 

Mr. Henshaw has invariably been a tenacious advocate of the Dem- 
ocratic party. In 1839 he was invited to attend the celebration of 
national independence at Abington ; and, in a letter of acceptance, he 
remarked, "I consider myself, in some degree, an ' Old Colony' man, 
having descended, in one branch of my ancestry, from John Alden, one 
of the Pilgrims Avho arrived in the Mayflower, in 1620." The follow- 
ing toast was given, by the committee of arrangements, at the festival : 
•'Hon. David Henshaw, — a Hercules in intellect, and a Democrat in 
principle : We are proud to learn that he is a descendant from the Old 
Colony." 



568 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

This Democratic Hercules, whose club is as a broken lance to the 
invulnerable buckler of the vigorous Webster, submitted to a wider 
sweep of indiscriminate proscription, while at the head of the Boston 
custom-house, than any of his predecessors, — when it was wished the 
Democracy were conveniently small, as numerous factions were rushing 
into their ranks, hungry for office. But the removals were immediate, 
and the contention in the political hive shortly ceased. Mr. Henshaw's 
oration in Faneuil Hall, at the head of this article, is a manifesto of 
Democratic principles, in a manly tone. In the opinion of the oppo- 
nents of David Hcnshaw, the letters of Henry Orne, over the signa- 
ture of Columbus, published in the Boston Bulletin, in 1819, and 
gathered in a pamphlet of eighty-four pages, as also Derby's Sketch 
of the Origin and History of the Statesman Party of Boston, compris- 
ing one hundred and seventy-two pages, are material aids to our polit- 
ical history, — excepting a few mistakes naturally arising from the 
ebullition of party rancor, — revealing a system of management and 
intrigue unprecedented in the annals of New England, ever to be had 
in remembrance as a beacon to posterity. We readily concede to 
David Henshaw great native capacity and political integrity ; but the 
radiation of the satellites around him, like the halo encircling the moon, 
ever indicated a storm. It was in allusion to this period that the ven- 
erable Harrison Gray Otis remarked, within a few weeks of his death, 
as follows : "I regard the administration of Gen. Jackson as the foun- 
tain of all the subsequent abuses, and refer every Whig to his own knowl- 
edge and recollection of the inroads made upon the constitution by that 
iron-willed oppressor."' It has been further stated, that President 
Jackson was more independent and more daring in his character than 
President Jefferson ; and, therefore, at times, the more arbitrary, and 
the more dangerous as the ruler of this republic. 

In December, 1827, Mr. Henshaw published, in the Boston States- 
man, a series of articles, entitled Observations occasioned by the 
Remarks on the Character of Napoleon, etc., in the Christian Exam- 
iner ; which severely repel the opinions of its author, the Rev. Dr. 
Channing, who viewed Napoleon as the greatest despot of modern his- 
tory. A political opponent said of this production, that it was a Quix- 
otic attack on one of the greatest writers of the age, which resembles, 
in more than one point, the scene of the windmill. In 1831 Mr. Hen- 
shaw pubhshed Remarks on the Bank of the United States, the object 
of which was to exhibit the futility of objections to the establishment of 



DAVID HENSHAW. 569 

a national bank, founded on the resources of government, — opinions 
which he afterwards modified. He was one of the originators and 
directors of the Commonwealth Insurance Company, created in 1824, 
the most of which stock was invested in the Commonwealth Bank, and 
ended in a total ruin, on the failure of the bank, in 1835. Judge 
Hubbard's Report, relating to the failure of the bank, with the testi- 
mony of witnesses examined by the legislative committee, February, 
1838, is an interesting relic of banking operations. Mr. Henshaw was 
also a director of the Warren Association of Stockholders in South 
Boston real estate, of which the Mount Washington House was a por- 
tion. In 1839 he published letters on the internal improvement and 
commerce of the west, — a production that will ever redound to his 
credit. 

Mr. Henshaw has the reputation of having prompted President 
Jackson, when at the Tremont House, in Boston, June, 1833, to issue 
the order for the removal of the government deposits from the United 
States Bank. On the failure of certain favored banks at the west, to 
which deposits Avere removed. President Jackson vented bitter maledic- 
tions against certain injudicious advisers, and out of this arose the sub- 
treasury measure of Llartin Van Buren. Mr. Henshaw was opposed 
to a strong protective tariff; and said, at a public dinner, in 1832, that 
"the political tariffites, like the mistletoe of the majestic oak, fastened 
upon the manufacturing interest, absorbing its power and paralyzing its 
health." In 1844 there was published a refutation, by his friends, of 
the calumnies against David Henshaw, in relation to the failure of the 
Commonwealth Bank, and the transfer of South Boston lands to the 
United States. It was comprised in a pamphlet of sixty pages. 

We cannot close the sketch of this leader of New England Democ- 
racy, before relating his case at law against Samuel II. Foster, warden, 
and the inspectors of ward No. 7, in Boston, for refusing to receive his 
printed vote for a representative to the General Court, presented May 
11, 1829, believing it not to be a legal vote, because it was a printed 
one ; and they rejected it solely on that account. In the decision of 
Chief Justice Parker, the authority of Livingston was cited, who con- 
tended that wherever the contrary does not appear from the context, 
writing not only means words traced with a pen, or stamped, but 
printed, or engraved, or made legible by any other device. The prac- 
tice had been to elect many town officers by hand vote, and, probably, 
in some instances, representatives had been so chosen. It became nec- 
48* 



670 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

essary, therefore, to prescribe that the choice should be made by bal- 
lot ; but even the word ballot itself is ambiguous, and therefore it was 
required that representatives shall be elected by written votes. Now, 
if writing was "to express by letters" according to the chirographers, 
which may as well and better be done by writing with types than in 
manuscript, no inference can be drawn, from the terms employed, against 
the use of printed votes. Suppose one manuscript vote, and others 
copied from it by machinery, — would these latter be legal votes ? Sup- 
pose lithographic votes, — which was said to be the character of the one 
tendered by the plaintiff. The supposed inconveniences, from the sub- 
stitution of printed for manuscript votes, are probably, in a great 
degree, imaginary. It is said it may be the means of introducing car- 
icatures, or libellous pictures, upon the ticket ; but is it not quite as 
easy now 7 The picture may be stamped, and names of candii.lates 
written over or under it, and the vote will be legal. It has been done, 
and probably will be done again, in times of fervid struggle. In the 
common and statute law of this commonwealth and Great Britain, both 
now and at the time of making the constitution, the use of the word 
writing, to express instruments generally printed, was familiar. Thus, 
a bond is a writing obligatory, though printed ; a promise in writing, 
to avoid the statute of frauds, may be printed. The statute of Anne, 
respecting promissory notes, speaks of notes in writing, and yet nothing 
is more common than to see them in print. Justice Parker rendered 
judgment against the defendants. Mr. Henshaw died at Leicester, 
Nov. 11, 1852. 



EDWARD CRUFT, JR. 

JULY 4, 1837. FOR THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY. 

Was born at Boston, May 7, 1811 ; entered the Latin School in 
1821, and graduated at Harvard College in 1831 ; was a counsellor- 
at-law, and of the city Council in 1834-35. He settled at St. Louis; 
was never married ; and practised law in the office of the Hon. Judge 
Crum, author of the Missouri Justice, who remarks, in the preface to 
that work, that he "is greatly indebted to the learning and professional 
skill of Edward Cruft, Jr., Esq., of the St. Louis bar, to whose accurate 
and critical supervision these subjects, in their course of preparation, 
were especially committed." He died at St. Louis, Apr. 22, 1847. 



JONATHAN CHAPMAN. 571 

JONATHAN CHAPMAN. 

JULY 4, 1837. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

In the highly patriotic performance of our orator, it is remarked : 
'•We extend our fortifications, and enlarge our navy, — and it is well. 
But how is it with the real citadels of that which we would defend — 
the principles and hearts of each citizen 7 A love of order, a respect 
for right, — honesty, political, as well as private, — contentment with 
the inevitable inequalities of temporal conditions which Providence has 
ordained, — an honest endeavor to improve our situation, but coupled 
always with the feeling that, as republican citizens, we are measured, 
not by its elevation, but by the fidelity with which we fill it, whatever 
it be, — a regard for the law, which considers the necessity for a mili- 
tary police, whether permanent or temporary, as the next dreadful 
tiling to the invasion of a foreign foe, — an enlarged patriotism, indi- 
vidual self-control, — these are the cheap yet priceless defences of our 
nation's freedom, and without which forts and armies and navies are 
idler than the winds. But are these the things which mark our times? 
Is the internal fortress of freedom, which each citizen has in charge, 
guarded as it should be ? Is there no crimson upon our cheek, as we 
commune with the past, in the solemnities of this day? It was the 
possession of these only supports of freedom, and the wonderful devel- 
opment of the principle of individual self-government, which sustained 
our fiithers, in their heroic enterprise, — bound them to it and to each 
other, when there was no other earthly government which they 
acknowledged, and enabled them to stand forth to posterity in the 
noble attitude of genuine freemen. This is the key to their whole his- 
tory. In simplicity, in purity, in a sense of individual responsibility, 
they planted the tree of liberty. The thin soil of the rocky mountains 
was its only nurture, — but, behold its majesty! We may have 
transplanted it to the deep soil which prosperity has enriched, but 
where is its vigor 7 Its sap may be more abundant, but where is its 
purity 7 It may be more comely to the eye, but how wrestles it with 
the storm 1 

" It was upon the basis of this liberty, founded upon individual fidel- 
ity, that, when the conflict was over, our republican government was 
established. Its founders, as wise in the council as they had been val- 



572 THE HUNDRED BOSTON OKATOES. 

iant in the field, though they ackno-wleclged and obeyed the true prin- 
ciple of freedom, were aware that the time had not come when it was 
to be trusted alone, — that there would yet be employment for magis- 
trates and laws ; and that, accordingly, an outward government was 
still indispensable. But what kind of a government '? Their answer 
was ready: a government that, recognizing and based upon the true 
notion of liberty, — as resting, in fact, upon the principles of individual 
obligation, — should, in its form and operation, tend to the development 
and perfection^ of this principle; whilst, at the same time, it possessed 
an external power sufficient, in all cases, to supply its want or perver- 
sion ; — or, in briefer language, a government that should give every 
citizen an opportunity of being a good one, from his own true idea of 
freedom, if he would, — but compel him to be one, if he would not. 
This is the theory of our government ; and, in this provision for the 
development of the individual self-government, on which liberty rests, 
consists the distinction between a republican government and a despotic 
one. The mere outward object of both is the same, — to govern the 
people, and to preserve order. The diflference is in the means, and in 
the consequent effect upon individual character ; and this is a mighty 
difference. I seek no other consideration, to give unspeakable value to 
our republican institutions, than this their characteristic — their basis 
upon and tendency to develop the true foundation of rational freedom. 
Submission to external, visible force, on which the despot relies, is in 
its nature degrading ; but obedience to the inward, unseen monitor, to 
which a free government appeals, is always exalting. Despotism is a 
self-perpetuating curse. In all its forms, it makes and keeps its sub- 
jects fit only for its iron rod. But the government that is based upon 
the self-government of each citizen has an upward tendency ; and if 
they who live under it will but give it free play, and not cramp or per- 
vert it, it will carry them up with it." 

Jonathan Chapman was born at Boston, Jan. 23, 1807, and was a 
son of Captain Jonathan Chapman, a selectman of Boston, who mar- 
ried Margaret Rogers. He was educated at Phillips' Academy, in 
Exeter, in 1817, and graduated at Harvard College in 1825, on which 
occasion he enlarged on the patronage expected by literary men from 
the present age ; and, when a candidate for the degree of Master of 
Arts, he gave an oration on the spirit which should accompany our 
republican institutions. He pursued his legal studies under the guid- 
ance of Chief Justice Shaw, and became an eminent counsellor. He 



JONATHAN CHAPMAN. 573 

married Lucinda, daughter of Hon. Jonathan Dwight, of Springfield, 
bj whom he had one son and four daughters. He indulged an. early 
mihtarj spirit, and was commander of the Rifle Rangers, an aid-de- 
camp to Gov. Everett, and a member of the Ancient and Honorable 
Artillery Company. He was elected to the city Council from 1835 
to 1840 ; was elected mayor of the city until 1843. 

On the opening of steam navigation between Liverpool and Boston, 
Mayor Chapman gave the sentiment herewith, at a public festival in a 
pavilion in front of the Maverick House, in East Boston, July 22, 1840 : 
" Old England and New England : Oceans may divide them, and dif- 
ferent forms of government may distinguish them ; but so long as their 
merchants can raise the steam, they cannot be kept asunder." And, 
at a festival for the four hundredth anniversary of the invention of print- 
ing, June 26th of the same year, he gave: "The Art of Printing: 
May it improve men's minds as much as it has elongated their 
tongues." 

During the period of his mayoralty, the famous dinner was given in 
honor of Charles Dickens, the facetious writer, whose sketches of char- 
acter in humble life are unrivalled by any author of any date. It 
occurred at the Papantis Hall, Feb. 2, 1842, on which occasion Mr. 
Chapman gave an effective speech, Mr. Quincy, who presided, inquired, 
after the speech of George Bancroft, if gentlemen remembered the excur- 
sion made by Mr. Pickwick, and his companions, Snodgrass and Win- 
kle, to Dingley Dell, and the particulars of that melancholy ride? 
Presuming that they did, he would not detain them with a narration 
of them, but would merely read the pathetic words of Mr. Pickwick, 
in reference to the horse which he could not get rid of on that occasion. 
'• It's hke a dream," ejaculated Mr. Pickwick, "a hideous dream. 
The idea of a man's walking about all day with a dreadful horse that 
he can't get rid of" Gentlemen, continued Mr. Quincy, I will give 
you : The horse that Mr. Pickwick could not get rid of, and the Mayor 
that nobody ever wants to get rid of On this, Mayor Chapman, after 
a sprightly preface, abounding in flashes of wit, related an imaginary 
interview with Hon. Samuel Pickwick and the by no means dishon- 
orable Mr. Samuel Weller, at his oflSce, the object of which was to 
entreat protection for the editor of the Pickwick Club. "Indeed," 
says Mr. Pickwick, "we should never have consented that he should 
visit this strange country, unless some of us should have been secretly 
sent to take care of him ; for we have learned that you are a curious 



574 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

people here, — that, as it has been said, whora the gods love die 
young, so whom the Americans love they utterly kill with kindness." 
''Yes," interrupted Mr. Weller, unable longer to repress his feel- 
ings, "it is currently reported, in our circles, that, when the Amer- 
icans fancies a stranger, they makes him into weal-pie and devours 
him." "Hush, Samuel," said Mr. Pickwick, "don't use hard words. 
Never get into a passion, especially in foreign countries, where you 
don't know the customs. But, Mr. Mayor, this is my source of 
trouble, and I come to complain that your people seem determined 
to extinguish our editor. I have been trying to get at him for a 
week, but have not dared to trust my gaiters amidst the crowds that 
surround him. I tremble when I hear of two dinners in one day, and 
four suppers in one night. I fear you have designs upon his life ; 
nay, that you mean to eat him up." Sir, interrupted I, do I under- 
stand you aright 7 Do you mean to insinuate that the American peo- 
ple are cannibals ? Do you use the words in their common sense '} 
•' 0, no, sir," replied Mr. Pickwick, resuming his blandest expression ; 
•• I respect and honor the American people, — I mean to say that they 
are cannibals only in a Pickwickian point of view. But, besides my 
personal attachment, I desire this man's life to be spared, for the sake 
of science, and for the cause of humanity and of the Club. Think not 
that the Club has been sleeping whilst its editor has been visiting the 
poor-houses and hovels, touching your hearts, and making you better 
men, by his truthful descriptions. We have been gathering materials, 
and are doing so still. Even your own country may furnish some of 
these materials. Not, however, I assure you, for the purposes of bold 
and coarse personalities, either of praise or of censure, but for the del- 
icate and beautiful touches of character, — those life-like and soul- 
stirring descriptions, — those pictures of humanity, which show that, 
behind the drapery of human forms and distinctions, the true element 
of a man is a warm and beating heart. These are the purposes for 
which we are at work, — purposes, sir, for which, though I, Samuel 
Pickwick, say it, the editor of the Pickwick Club has no superior upon 
the face of the earth. I pray you, therefore, said he," rising to a pitch 
of enthusiasm which almost choked his utterance ; "I pray you to 
protect him. Let him not be overrun. Let him not be devoured. 
Spare him to return again to the halls of the Club. Spare him, sir, 
and the blessings of Winkle, Tupman, Snodgrass, Pickwick, and the 
whole race of Pickwickians, shall be on you and yours." Having thus 



JONATHAN CHAPMAN. 575 

uttered liimself, and leaving his respects for you, sir, and for this assem- 
bly, he took his leave. Finding myself most particularly honored by 
this interview, I give you as a sentiment, — The Hon. Samuel Pick- 
wick, and the Pickwick Club and its editor: "May they never say 
die,"— 

•' And when they next do ride abroad, 
May we be there to see." 

No one among us was more ready at repartee, and numerous are 
his witticisms to be found on record. He was an effective pohtical 
writer for the Boston Atlas. As chairman of the Whig State Central 
Committee, he drafted a manly and ingenious set of resolutions, during 
the Harrison campaign, adopted as a model by the party in the prin- 
cipal States. His abilities were equal to any civil or political station, 
and he was a contributor to the North American Review and the 
Christian Examiner. 

It was the great object of his ambition, during the whole of his offi- 
cial career as the mayor of his native city, to reduce the city debt, and 
diminish the expenditures ; and he saved more to the city, by a course 
of rigid economy, than any of his predecessors, or of those that have 
succeeded him. Indeed, the name of Chapman should be synonymous 
with the conception of economy, for his carefulness was as unbounded 
as was the profuseness of Quincy and Otis before him. 

Mayor Chapman, after reviewing the financial condition of the city, in 
his second inaugural address, and proposing plans of economy, remarks : 
" It would be pleasant and exciting, I know, to find ourselves furnished 
with ample means, and called upon to embark in large and striking 
enterprises. No one would enjoy such a state of things more than 
myself But, if I am right in my view of the true interest of our city, 
in its present condition, the homelier and less captivating duty awaits 
us, of husbanding resources and superintending details. It is remarked 
by one of my most distinguished predecessors, the present president of 
Harvard College, in his history of that institution, that ' those who 
limit and economize are never so acceptable to mankind as those who 
enlarge and expend.' And he adds, therefore, that no higher obligation 
rests upon history, than to do justice to men on whom these unpleasant 
and unpopular duties devolve. Let me only add, in conclusion, that 
there is for all of us, whatever may be our station, and alike in public 
and private life, a higher ground of reliance than what other men may 
either think or write, — the simple consciousness of having done what 



576 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

we deem our duty, ■without reference to the question whether it be 
popular or unpopular." 

Mr. Chapman was an editor of the Practice in Civil Actions, and 
Proceedings at Law in Massachusetts, by Hon. Judge Samuel Howe, 
published in 1834. His talents, education and eloquence, made him 
conspicuous in this community, says Dr. Putnam; while the integrity 
of his character, the unfeigned kindness of his manners, and his gen- 
erous, frank and magnanimous spirit, won for him an unusual degree 
of affection and confidence. Perhaps it was without precedent, that so 
young a man should be called to preside over the municipal affairs of so 
large a population; and yet, Mr. Chapman's administration was as much 
distinguished for calm discretion in emergencies, and a careful financial 
economy, as for the grace and fcHcity with which he presided and spoke 
on public occasions. He steadily shunned political preferment, because 
he feared that its excitement might be unfavorable to that moral tran- 
quilhty and health which he prized above everything. His chief delight 
was in his home ; and it is as seated there that we would prefer to 
draw his portrait, if we were permitted. PEs sunny face, his warm 
heart and candid speech, bound his friends to him with a singular 
strength of attachment. He was a temperate advocate of the tem- 
perance cause, and delivered an address for the Young Men's Temper- 
ance Society of Boston, in 1832. Mr. Chapman died at Boston, May 
25, 1818, aged forty-one years. 



HUBBARD WINSLOW. 

JULY 4, 1838. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

Was born at Wilhston, Vt., and graduated at Yale College in 
1825. He was a student in divinity at Yale and at Andover. He 
was settled as pastor of the First Church at Dover, Dec. 4, 1828, and 
was dismissed Nov. 3, 1831. He married Susan, daughter of Hon. 
Pliny Cutler, of Boston. He became the pastor of Bowdoin-street 
Church, and successor to Rev. Lyman Beecher, D. D., Sept. 26, 1832, 
which station he resigned March, 1844. The oration at the head of 
this article was on the means of the perpetuity of our republic, and is 
a liberal and enlightened performance. Mr. Winslow is a useful and 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISOX. 577 

efficient member of the city school committee, and principal of a female 
school of elevated character. During his ministry, he was a devoted 
pastor, a persuasive preacher, of fervid imagination, and fine classical 
attainments. Among his publications are the Young Man's Aid, 
which has been reprinted in England and Scotland ; Sermons on Chris- 
tian Doctrines ; Discourses on the Doctrine of the Trinity ; Social and 
Domestic Duties ; Are you a Christian ? Self-examination, reprinted 
in Scotland ; and the Elements of Intellectual Philosophy, a work of 
sound principles. 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

JULY 4, 1838. FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 

Was born at Newburyport, Mass., Dec. 10, 1805, and was son of 
Capt. Abijah Garrison, who was a West India trader, a good navigator, 
and a poet. His mother was Fanny Lloyd, a lady of superior intel- 
lect, whose hair, Avhen it was unbound, hke that of Godiva, fell around 
her like a veil. His father dying Avhen he was very young, William 
was employed in the family of Dea. Ezekiel Bartlett, and sent to the 
grammar-school. His mother removed to Lynn, where he was appren- 
ticed to a shoemaker, from whence she removed to Baltimore. Dis- 
liking the cobbler's last, Dea. Bartlett sent him to a cabinet-maker, in 
Haverhill ; which was also so irksome an employment, that at last the 
printing-office was esteemed best for him, and he was sent to the New- 
buryport Herald, where, enjoying advantages of mental culture, he 
became very happy, and was an anonymous correspondent of Mr. 
Allen, the editor, until he was discovered by Hon. Caleb Gushing, who 
was at that time in active legal practice, and a temporary editor of that 
paper. At this period, William originated an Apprentices' Debating 
Society; and, during the absence of the editor at Alabama, he con- 
ducted the Herald, being then but nineteen years old. William, hav- 
ing completed his term with Mr. Allen, in December, 1825, visited his 
dear mother at Baltimore, who shortly after deceased ; and he returned 
to his native town, where he established "The Free Press," a journal 
which soon failed, for want of patronage. With a heavy heart, Mr. 
Garrison proceeded to Boston, and was employed in the office of David 
Lee Child, editor of the Massachusetts Journal. In 1827 he was 
49 



578 THE HUXDRED BOSTON ORATOES. 

employed in the office of the National Philanthropist, edited by Rev. 
William Collier, a tender-hearted philanthropist, -whom he succeeded. 

During this period, the mind of Mr. Garrison -was absorbed in an 
abohtion paper, — The Genius of Universal Emancipation, — pubhshed 
at Baltimore, conducted by the benevolent Benjamin Lundy. In 1828 
he removed to Bennington, Vt., and established " The Spirit of the 
Times," a journal devoted to the support of John Quincy Adams to the 
presidency, at the same time espousing the cause of abolition. So 
intense was his ardor for emancipation, that Benjamin Lundy persuaded 
him to devote his talents to the journal at Baltimore, as being a wider 
field of labor, whither he removed in 1829. Here Garrison became so 
tenacious for the doctrine of Immediatism, that Lundy's banner of 
Gradualism Avas lowered, and the slave-holders determined to crush 
the paper by law. Garrison was fined, and imprisoned one month, when 
he was liberated by a kind stranger. Soon after his release, he became 
an advocate for the American Colonization Society ; but, believing that 
this institution recognized the right of property in the colored race, he 
renounced its interests. It may be proper to state here, that Mr. Gar- 
rison gave an address, July 4, 1829, at Park-street Church, Boston, 
in behalf of the claims of the colonization enterprise ; and this was 
probably his last appeal for that object. 

Mr. Garrison, in company with Isaac Knapp, established, Jan. 1, 
1831, the Liberator, at Boston; which, for several years, was issued 
from an upper room in the Merchants' Hall, on Water-street. It v/aa 
here that the first Anti-slavery Society in America was originated by 
William Lloyd Garrison, consisting of only twelve members. In 1832 
he published his Thoughts on American Colonization, — a production 
denouncing its object, comprising two hundred and forty pages, and 
an address on the progress of the abolition cause. The Liberator, by 
its great zeal and tenacity, so highly inflamed the public mind, that its 
editor was denied membership to the Boston Debating Society; and 
the Governor of Georgia offered a reward of five thousand dollars for 
the head of Garrison, and the enactment of that State has never been 
repealed. We here furnish a copy of this document : 

"State of Georgia: I 
In Senate, Nov. 30, 1831. ^ 

^^Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State 
of Georgia, in general assembly met, that the sum of five thousand 
dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated to be paid to any per- 



WILLIAM LLOYD GAKKISON. 579 

son, or persons, who shall arrest, bring to trial, and prosecute to con- 
viction under the laws of this State, the editor or publisher of a certain 
paper called the Liberator, published in the town of Boston and State 
of Massachusetts ; or who shall arrest, bring to trial, and prosecute to 
conviction under the laws of this State, any other person, or persons, 
who shall utter, publish or circulate, within the limits of this State, 
said paper, called the Liberator, or any other paper, circular, pamphlet, 
letter or address, of a seditious character : 

"And that His Excellency the Governor is hereby authorized and 
requested to issue his warrant upon the treasurer for said sum of five 
thousand dollars, in favor of any person, or persons, who shall have 
arrested and brought to trial, and prosecuted to conviction under the 
laws of this State, the editor or publisher of the Liberator ; or who 
shall have arrested and brought to trial, or prosecuted to conviction 
under the laws of this State, any other person, or persons, who shall 
utter, publish or circulate, within the limits of this State, said paper 
called the Liberator ; or any other paper, circular, pamphlet, letter or 
address, of a seditious character ; — and that these resolutions be 
inserted in the appropriation act. A7id Resolved further, That His 
Excellency the Governor cause the foregoing resolutions to be pub- 
lished in the public journals of this State, and such other papers as he 
may think proper, and pay for the publication thereof out of the con- 
tingent fund. 

" Approved Dec. 26, 1831. 

"Wilson Lumpkin, Governor.''^ 

This proclamation widely extended the notoriety of Garrison, and 
tended to greatly increase the number of his followers. Li 1833 he 
visited England, where he Avas cordially welcomed by Clarkson, Wil- 
berforce, Buxton, Macaulay, Mary Howitt, Harriet Martineau, and 
other philanthropists, many of whom signed a protest against the Amer- 
ican Colonization Society. He returned to New York ; and, on his 
arrival, placards were posted around the city, inviting a public meet- 
ing, " to hurry him to the tar-kettle." Mr. Garrison married Eliza, a 
daughter of George Benson, of Brooklyn, Conn., Sept. 4, 1834. 

Soon after the arrival of George Thompson at Boston, in September, 
1835, a gallows was erected, one night, directly opposite the dwelling of 
Mr. Garrison, with two ropes suspended therefrom, and on the cross- 
bar was this inscription, — "Judge Lynch's Law." One of the ropes 



580 TEE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

was intended for Thompson, and the other for Garrison. On the 21st 
day of October following occurred that memorable outrage of an infu- 
riated populace, which has incffaccably stained the noble city of Boston. 
There had existed for a period here a Female Anti-slavery Society. 
The president of this little party. Miss Mary Parker, had announced a 
meeting to take place in the Anti-slavery Hall, No. 46 Washington- 
street, on Oct. 21, p. M., when several addresses might be expected 
on the occasion. It was anticipated that George Thompson would be 
one of the speakers ; but, that there might be no pretext for disturb- 
ance, he left the city before the meeting. Various newspapers denounced 
the meeting, shopkeepers petitioned the city authorities against it, plac- 
ards were posted in the streets, and a reward of one hundred dollars 
offered to any one who would be first to convey Thompson to the tar- 
kettle. A great concourse of people filled the hall, before the time of 
meeting, on that day ; and, notwithstanding the excitement, the meet- 
ing was called to order by the presiding lady, who read a portion of 
Scripture, and offered up a fervent prayer, — soon after which, the 
ladies withdrew, amid the abuse of the populace. ]\Ir. Garrison, who 
had conducted his young wife to this meeting, was observed by the 
populace, who, disappointed at not finding George Thompson, the more 
immediate object of their wrath, resolved forthwith to seize him, 
exclaiming, " Garrison is here ! We must have Garrison ! Out with 
him ! Lynch him ! " For a moment, their attention was diverted to 
the destruction of the anti-slavery sign, when Mayor Lyman earnestly 
besought him to effect his escape from the rear of the building. Pre- 
ceded by a devoted friend, My. John R. Cambell, Mr. Gai-rison dropped 
from a back window on to a shed, and narrowly escaped falling head- 
long to the ground. We will conclude this narrative in the language 
of Mr. Garrison: "We entered into a carpenter's shop [kept by 
Luke Brown], through which we attempted to get into Wilson's Lane, 
but found our retreat cut off by the mob. They raised a shout as soon 
as we came in sight ; but the proprietor promptly closed the door of his 
shop, kept them at bay for a time, and thus kindly afforded me an 
opportunity to find some other passage. I told Mr. Cambell it would 
be futile to attempt to escape. I would go out to the mob, and let 
them deal with me as they might elect ; but he thought it was my duty 
to avoid them as long as possible. We then went up stairs ; and, finding 
a vacancy in one corner of the room, I got into it, and he and a j^oung 
lad [John Bolan] piled up some boards in front of me, to shield me 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 681 

from observation. In a few minutes, several ruffians broke into the 
chamber, who seized Mr. Cambell in a rough manner, and led him out 
to the view of the mob, saying, ' This is not Garrison, but Garrison's 
and Thompson's friend, and he says he knows where Garrison is, but 
won't tell.' Then a shout of exultation was raised by the mob, and 
what became of him I do not know ; though, as I was immediately dis- 
covered, I presume he escaped without material injury. On seeing 
me, three or four of the rioters, uttering a yell, furiously dragged me 
to the window, with the intention of hurling me from that height to 
the ground ; but one of them relented, and said, ' Don't let us kill 
him outright.' So they drew me back, and coiled a rope about my 
body, probably to drag me through the streets. I bowed to the mob, 
and requesting them to wait patiently until I could descend, went down 
upon a ladder that was raised for that purpose. I fortunately extri- 
cated myself from the rope, and was seized by two or three of the lead- 
ing rioters, powerful and athletic men, by whom I was dragged along, 
bareheaded (for my hat had been knocked oflf and cut in pieces on the 
spot), a friendly voice in the crowd shouting, ' He shan't be hurt ! He 
is an American ! ' — [Aaron Cooley, who protected his person at the 
moment.] This seemed to excite sympathy in the breasts of some 
others, and they reiterated the same cry. Blows, however, were aimed 
at my head, by such as were of a cruel spirit ; and, at last, they suc- 
ceeded in tearing nearly all my clothes from my body. Thus was I 
dragged through Wilson's Lane into State-street, in the rear of the 
City Hall, over the ground that Avas stained with the blood of the first 
martyrs in the cause of Liberty and Independence, in the memora- 
ble massacre of 1770 ; and upon Avhich was proudly unfarled, only a 
few years since, with joyous acclamations, the beautiful banner pre- 
sented to the gallant Poles by the young men of Boston. What a 
scandalous and revolting contrast ! My offence was in pleading for 
Liberty, — liberty for my enslaved countrymen, colored though they 
be, — liberty of speech and of the press for all! And, upon that 
' consecrated spot,' I was made an object of derision and scorn, some 
portions of my person being in a state of entire nudity. 

" They proceeded with me in the direction of the City Hall, the cry 
being raised, ' To the Common ! ' whether to give me a coat of tar and 
feathers, or to throw me into the pond, was problematical. As we 
approached the south door, the mayor attempted to protect me by his 
presence ; but, as he was unassisted by any show of authority or force, 
49* 



582 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

he -was quickly thrust aside. And now came a tremendous rush on 
the part of the mob, to prevent my entering the hall. For a time, the 
conflict ^vas desperate ; but at length a rescue was effected by a posse 
that came to the help of the mayor, by whom I was carried up into the 
mayor's room. 

"In view of my denuded condition, one individual, in the post-office 
below stairs, kindly lent me a pair of pantaloons ; another, a coat ; a 
third, a stock ; a fourth, a cap, &c. After a brief consultation (the 
mob densely surrounding the City Hall, and threatening the safety of 
the post-office), the mayor and his advisers said my life depended upon 
committing me to jail, ostensibly as a disturber of the peace. Accord- 
ingly, a hack was got in readiness at the door; and, supported by 
Sheriff Parkman and Ebenezer Bailey, Esq. (the mayor leading the 
way), I was put into it without much difficulty, as I was not at first 
identified in my new garb. But now a scene occurred that baffles the 
power of description. As the ocean, lashed into fury by the spirit of 
the storm, seeks to whelm the adventurous bark beneath its mountain 
waves, so did the mob, enraged by a series of disappointments, rush 
like a whirlwind upon the frail vehicle in which I sat, and endeavor to 
drag me out of it. Escape seemed a physical impossibility. They 
clung to the wheels, dashed open the doors, seized hold of the horses, 
and tried to upset the carriage. They were, however, vigorously 
repulsed by the pohce. A constable sprang in by my side, the doors 
were closed, and the driver, lustily using his whip upon the bodies of 
his horses and the heads of the rioters, happily made an opening 
through the crowd, and drove at a tremendous speed for Leverett- 
strect. But many of the rioters followed even with superior swiftness, 
and repeatedly attempted to arrest the progress of the horses. To 
reach the jail by a direct course was found impracticable ; and, after 
going in a circuitous direction, and encountering many ' hair-breadth 
'scapes,' we drove up to this new and last refuge of liberty and life, 
when another desperate attempt was made to seize me by the mob, — 
but in vain. In a few moments, I was locked up in a cell, safe from 
my persecutors, accompanied by two delightful associates, — a good con- 
science and a cheerful mind. In the course of the evening, several of 
my friends came to my grated window, to sympathize and confer with 
me, with whom I held a strengthening conversation until the hour of 
retirement, when I threw myself upon my prison-bed, and slept tran- 
quilly. In the morning, I inscribed upon the walls of my cell, with a 
pencil, the following lines : 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 583 

" 'Wm. Lloyd Garrison was put into this cell on Wednesday after- 
noon, Oct. 21, 1835, to save him from the violence of a " respectable 
and influential" mob, who sought to destroy him for preaching the 
abominable and dangerous doctrine, that "all men are created equal," 
and that all oppression is odious in the sight of God. " Hail, Colum- 
bia ! " Cheers for the autocrat of Russia, and the sultan of Turkey ! 

" 'Reader, let this inscription remain till the last slave in this des- 
potic land be loosed from his fetters.' 

" In the course of the forenoon, after passing through the mockery 
of an examination, for form's sake, before Judge Whitman, I was 
released from prison ; but, at the earnest solicitation of the city 
authorities^ in order to tranquillize the public mind, I deemed it proper 
to leave the city for a few days, accompanied by my wife, whose situa- 
tion was such as to awaken the strongest solicitude for her life." 

Mr. Garrison, in 1840, attended the World's Convention, in Lon- 
don, as an agent of the American Anti-slavery Society. He was one 
of the originators of the Anti-Sabbath Convention, which held its 
first gathering at Boston, in the Melodeon, March, 1848. 

We doubt not the sincere devotion of William Lloyd Garrison to his 
favorite cause of immediate emancipation ; but his published pamph- 
lets and newspaper articles abound in a spirit of intolerance, sweeping 
censure, and rash, injurious judgment, tending to defeat the grand 
purpose of the contest. The endeavor to extend liberty forthwith to 
the slave, by the fierce, bitter, and exasperating spirit of fanaticism, has 
more firmly bound the chains of servitude than when abolition soci- 
eties were founded. They partake largely of the prevailing ultraisms 
of the land. We doubt not Garrison's strength of principle in sympa- 
thy for the oppressed. Indeed, we hope the Liberty Bell will resound 
over the whole compass of this mighty republic, until the lash of every 
overseer is thrown away ; but the system of affiliated Societies, held 
together by passionate eloquence, is to be deplored, and their intoler- 
ant spirit is without a parallel in any great work of reform in the land. 
"Let the Union be dissolved," said orator Douglas, at Syracuse; "I 
wish to see it dissolve. I welcome the bolt, be it from heaven or hell, 
that shall shiver it to pieces!" The twenty years' excitement for 
immediate emancipation is defeated, and the impressive theme on the 
mind of every philanthropist must be how to soften the hard fate of 
the enslaved, and what is the wisest plan of device for effacing the 
curse from our country. We admire the intense devotion of Garrison 



584 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

to the cause of liberty, in the same ratio that we deplore his intem- 
perate zeal. Indeed, -we know nothing in our language breathing so 
strongly of the spirit of disunion, as the ten violent anathemas of 
Garrison, in his " accursed " article denouncino; the American Union. 



IVERS JAMES AUSTIN. 

JULY 4, 1839. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

" Not solely to those who sanctioned the federal constitution by their 
names," says Mr. Austin, "should its glory be ascribed. They who, 
poising themselves on their personal character, dared dissent fi-om some 
of its principles, are entitled to more gratitude than posterity has 
bestowed. Had the advocates of a stronger government succeeded in 
the convention, — had the president been invested with the useless tin- 
sel of a regal title, and the flital brilliancy of royal authority, — this 
anniversary would not now be hailed as the jubilee of freedom. If the 
executive, rising above the darkness of faction, make the national inter- 
est his cynosure, experience has proved that liberty is not endangered 
by the energy of government. 

" But if, descending from the elevation intended by the framers of 
the constitution, he mingles in the turmoil of political contest, placing 
himself first, his party next, and his country the last, in his thoughts, 
experience has equally proved that tyranny may be concealed by repub- 
lican robes. The opponents of the constitution distrusted human virtue. 
They foresaw that the ' golden sceptre ' of executive authority might 
become 'an iron rod to bruise and break' the disobedient. They 
exerted their influence to diminish its power. Whether such appre- 
hensions were founded in wisdom, modern experiment will be able to 
decide. The problem is yet unsolved, whether American freedom has 
most to dread from the strength or weakness of the federal head. 
Executive power has already proved a formidable foe to popular virtue; 
— whether an invincible foe, coming events will shortly declare. 

" However mistaken the opponents of the constitution may have 
been in the extent of their objections, their opposition lowered the high 
tones of those who desired more energy in the government. It is well 
that the ultraism of neither party prevailed ; but, were the executive 



IVERS JAMES AUSTIN. 585 

stronger, republicanism, in this age, -would be in danger of dissolution. 
The minority of the convention had a large, if not a principal share, in 
the compromise it effected. The spirit of independence animated their 
souls. It raised them above personal considerations. It led them to 
sacrifice at the shrine of their country the reward of long and success- 
ful toil for its Avelfaro. If few in number, greater their praise. The 
cause of opposition was to them the cause of truth. They fearlessly 
maintained it ; 

" And, for the testimony of truth, have borne 
Universal reproach, — far worse to bear 
Than violence ; for this was all their care. 
To stand approved in sight of God, 
Though worlds judged them pervei-se." 

Ivors James Austin, son of Hon. James T. Austin, was born at 
Boston, and entered the Latin School in 1822; pursued his edu- 
cation at the United States IMilitary Academy, in West Point, where 
he graduated in 1828 ; engaged in the study of law in the Law School 
of Harvard College, where he received an honorary degree in 1831 ; in 
the same year he entered the Suffolk bar, and pursued his legal 
studies in the office of his father, and became a member of the Ancient 
and Honorable Artillery Company. He has been the commander of 
the Rifle Rangers, lieutenant-colonel of the Boston regiment, and its 
judge-advocate. He was of the school committee in 1836 and 1837. 
His elaborate report, as chairman of a sub-committee on the reorgan- 
ization of the public schools of Boston, is a highly valuable document. 
In 1838 he was elected a representative to the State Legislature. He 
became a counsellor-at-law ; and married Elizabeth Turner Amory, 
Oct. 9, 1846. Mr. Austin possesses an unusual share of legal knowl- 
edge, and is remarkable for soundness of judgm.ent. He has been a 
frequent contributor to the Law Reporter ; and his account of the 
origin of the Mississippi doctrine of repudiation, in that journal, was 
so highly esteemed, that it was printed in Illinois, Mississippi, and 
this State, in a separate form. He furnished a valuable article for 
Willis' American Monthly Magazine, on the facilities for vice and 
intemperance in the Tremont Theatre ; and has contributed, also, to 
the North American Review and the Biblical Journal. His article on 
the nature and claims of the Military Academy at West Point is of 
great national spirit. 



586 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

THOMAS POWER. 

JULY 4, 1840. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

Was born at Boston, Oct. 8, 1786 ; and his birth-place was on the 
estate next above the Golden Ball in Hanover-street, where Benjamin 
Frankhn was employed in the shop of a tallow-chandler. He gradu- 
ated at Brown University in 1808, and engaged in the study of law, 
under the guidance of Hon. Judge Jackson. He became a counsellor- 
at-law in 1811, opened an oflfice at Northfield, where he practised 
law for a period of four years, when he settled at Boston, and was, 
during a period of seven years, an efficient member of the primary 
school committee. He married Elizabeth Sampson, of Duxbury, a 
descendant of the Pilgrim Fathers ; and was the clerk of the Boston 
Police Court, from the foundation of the city government. It was in 
the office of Mr. Power, who conceived the idea, that it was decided to 
plant the four rows of beautiful elm-trees that flourish on the main 
street of Northfield. 

j\Ir. Power possesses a highly poetical vein, besides great capacity 
in the legal profession ; and whatever he attempts he executes with all 
his power, whether as author or in his vocation at court. He is a 
fervid national poet. His Log Cabin Song, which was sung by the 
Louisiana delegation, on their entrance into Boston, in September, 
1840, to attend the electioneering gathering for Gen. Harrison, and 
the song for President Taylor, in 1848, — 

*' 'Tis a nation's jubilee, — 
Honor to the brave and free ; — ' ' 

moreover, " The Old Grist Mill," from his hand, — reflect much credit 
to the warmth of his heart. His contributions to the Daily Atlas 
indicate the purity of his judgment in musical criticism. Mr. Power 
has been apolitical admirer of the policy of Harrison Gray Otis; and, 
at a public festival in Faneuil Hall, March 4, 1829, when he was mayor 
of Boston, gave this sentiment, — "Hon. H. G. Otis: Made dearer to 
Bostonians by "Washington railing and Boston railways." Amid the 
multiplicity of his engagements, Mr. Power has found leisure to exer- 
cise his native talent ; and of his productions we find Masonic Melodies, 
108 pages 8vo. ; Secrecy, a poem delivered before the Knights Tern- 



THOMAS POWER. 587 

plars, Feb. 28, 1832. His best effort is, Lafayette, a Poem, — dedi- 
cated to the young men of Boston, 1834, in twenty-eight pages. 
He gave a Masonic Oration at Waltham, in 1821, and an oration at 
Northfield, July 4, 1812 ; beside the oration at the head of this article. 
]\Ir. Power should ever devote his intervals of leisure to national 
literature. The poet who wrote the elegant effusion before us should 
never restrain the inspiration of his Muse. Here is a fine conception 
of the Liberty Tree destroyed by the British soldiers during the siege 
of Boston, in 1775, which flourished two centuries ago. We select 
from " Lafayette, a Poem : " 

" There stood, in its unfading green, 
A monarch of the forest-scene ; 
Aloft, abroad its branches spread, — 
'Mong its deep foliage zephyrs played, — 
And fair its form, and deep its shade; 
Princes and peasants, too, 'tis said. 
Sought its protection when the sun 
Half his bright, burning course had run, 
And owned their deep devotion due 
Where thoughts are free and hands are true. 
Fair, too, the verdant spot where stood 
That towering monarch of the wood, 
And sweet the flowers, of mingled hues. 
That clustered there, in heaven's own dews, 
That flourished 'neath that holy tree 
To throw their perfume on the air, 

In elemental liberty. 
As things of light, buoyant and free. 

Mid kindred spirits bright and fair. 

***** 
The warrior hears the clash of arms. 

The shock of battle, loudly rise, 
And courtly rays and beauty's charms 

Fade like a vapor in the skies. 
Fair Freedom now has power alone 

To lead his heart and guide his hand, 
For pomp and honors near a throne, 

He seeks a home in foreign land. 
The cry is. Up '. wake ! freemen, wake I 

Oppression shrinks, and man is free ; 
The bolts and bars of tyrants break. 

When touched by heavenly Liberty. 
In the far-distant west is seen. 

Where beauty the horizon streaks, 
A lovely garden, fi-esh and green, — 

'T is the new home the warrior seeks. 



588 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

His hopes are high, and onward still 

Unwearied fancy proudly bears, 
Where war's loud trumpet, sharp and shrill, 

The march of Freedom's host declares. 
With soul on fire, his piercing eye. 

Prophetic, sees that little band ; 
He hears, elate, the battle-cry — 

For God, our liberty, our land ! 



RUFUS CHOATE. 

APRIL 21, 1841. EULOGY OX PRESIDENT HARRISON. 

Was born at Essex (formerly Chebacco), Essex County, Oct. 1, 
1799. When at school, he was remarkable for a great memory and 
abstracted habits. — avoiding youthful sports, and ever at the head of 
his class. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1819, and ■v\-as a 
tutor there until 1821. He entered the Dane Law School, at Cam- 
bridge, and read law in the office of Hon. David Cummings, of Salem, 
and under William Wirt, at Washington, who was then the U. S. 
Attorney General. He practised law at Danvers, of which town he 
was a representative in 1826-7. He removed to Salem, and finally 
settled at Boston, in 1834. He married Helen, daughter of Hon. 
Mills Olcott, of Hanover, N. H. In 1830 he was elected, for Essex, 
to the State Senate : in 1832 he was a representative in Congress ; 
and in 1842 he was elected to the U. S. Senate, from Suffolk, by the 
State Legislature, — which station he resigned in 1845. Mr. Choate 
is a regent of the Smithsonian Institute, at Washington ; a member of 
the Massachusetts Historical Society, and New England Historic and 
Gcnealogic Society. 

He is an eminent counsellor ; and the Law Reporter remarks of 
him, that " he is certainly one of the most gifted orators of New Eng- 
land. A brilliant intellect, which has been developed by exact and 
laborious study, a wonderful power of discrimination and abstraction, an 
exuberant flow of language, a sparkhng wit, a lively fancy, and an over- 
M-helming enthusiasm, enable him to control almost any audience, and 
(intitle him to the name of the American Erskine. Yet, with many of 
Erskine's excellences, he has some of his failings. Among these may 



RUFUS CHOATE. 589 

be included a strong love of the marvellous, and a disposition to make 
too much of small things. As Hamlet would say, he almost tears a 
passion to tatters, in his anxiety to bear upon a single point. This is 
a great element of rhetorical power ; but we doubt whether it be in 
good taste in a court of justice, where the object is to convince, and 
not to carry by storm." 

When Mr. Choate pronounced the eulogy on the beloved Harrison, 
liis eye kindling with excitement, his countenance overshadowed with 
grief, and, in his deep-toned, musical voice, enlarged on the history and 
the virtues of the departed, in language breathing the very essence of 
eloquence, it was a scene as overpowering as the oratory of Greece and 
Rome. "In looking over the history of his life," said Mr. Choate, 
"more carefully, to form an estimate of the aggregate of his character, 
I venture to think, that while through his life he displayed the requi- 
site capacity for the formation and administration of laws, or whatever 
public duty was required of him, it was the warm, pure and great 
heart that attracted and retained for him the love of his countrymen. 
He should be remembered, and we will speak of him to our children, 
as the Good Pkesident. Homely as that epithet may appear, how 
much more has it of real significance than the imperial title 'great,' so 
often given to men who have waded through blood to thrones ! I 
need give but two anecdotes, to illustrate this trait in his disposition. 
He pardoned the negro who sought his life ; and rescued him, by his 
own solicitation, when flistened to the stake for military punishment. 
He recovered heavy damages, by a verdict, in a case for slander, and 
then divided the money received among the children of the slanderers, 
and the orphan children of some of his old soldiers. Although he was 
hospitable beyond the usual hospitality of the west, it was always the 
remnant of the armies of Harmar and St. Clair that found the warmest 
welcome at his ever ready board. When the ear heard him, it blessed 
him ; when the eye saw him, it gave witness to him, because he deliv- 
ered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to 
help him. Consider, then, that combined benevolence and integrity, 
worthy the accounts of Grecian and Roman fame, to which he was not 
ashamed to turn his attention backwards, — behold him tried by the 
temptation of an office from which he might have amassed a princely 
fortune, and, with the conscientious honor of a Washington, retiring 
from it poor, — and you will feel and see, in a moment, what it was that 
impelled towards him the love of a people. The country had long been 
50 



590 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

unprosperous, from causes into which we need not inquire. We were 
laboring the livelong day, and feeling, as we lay down at night, that 
we were growing poorer and poorer. The people were puzzled with 
various theories and arguments. They were growing more and more 
distrustful with all mere great talent ; there grew up a wide and irre- 
pressible craving, in the public heart, for an honest man from among 
themselves, to preside over their affairs, and help them backward to 
the glories of their fathers' days. Then it was that they turned to 
him. Be this the lesson of his life. Be this his eulogy. That not 
for descent from an exalted line, not for his mihtary victories, not for 
his dexterity in the partisanship of professional pohtics, was he chosen 
to relieve and reform the land, but because he was a good and just 
man, fearing God and loving his country." These were the last words 
of the tribute : "We stand on this spot, where the heart of an American 
must throb with pride and joy. And yet, perhaps you have embellished 
the glories of even this place, by hanging these emblems of mourning to 
its pillars, — by this dim religious light we have added to the memories 
of its ancestral glories." Mr. Choate, possessing the keenest sensi- 
tiveness to impressions, is distinguished as much for his power of self- 
control as his power of self-excitation ; and his emotions, like well- 
trained troops, are " impetuous by rule." They appear always to rise 
up to his mind with a personal existence. Thus New York, with him, 
is not simply a city distinguished for commercial energy, but a city 
which with one hand " grasps the golden harvests of the west, and with 
the other, hke Venice, espouses the everlasting sea." " Massachu- 
setts," he says, " will ever be true to the constitution. She sat among 
the most affectionate at its cradle ; she Avill follow, the saddest of the 
procession of sorrow, its hearse." Again, he observes that, after we 
came out of the war of 1812, "the baptism of fire and blood was on 
our brow, and its influence on our spirit and legislation," 

We will relate an instance of the excitable powers of our orator. In 
an argument on a case of impeachment, before a legislative committee, 
Mr. Choate remarked that he never read, without a thrill of sublimity, 
the concluding article in the Bill of Rights, — the language of which is 
borrowed directly from Harrington, who says he owes it to Livy, — that 
" in the government of this commonwealth, the legislative department 
shall never exercise the executive and judicial powers, or either of 
them ; the executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial 
powers, or either of them ; the judicial shall never exercise the legis- 
lative and executive powers, or either of them ; — to the end that it 



RUFU3 CHOATE. 591 

may be a government of laws, and not of men; " tlius providing that 
the three great departments shall be entirely independent of each 
other ; and he remembered a story of a person who said that he could 
read Paradise Lost without affecting him at all, but that there was a 
passage at the end of Newton's Optics which made his flesh creep and 
his hair stand on end. I confess, said Mr. Choate, that I never 
read that article of the constitution without feeling the same, — " to the 
end that it may be a government of laws, and not of men." 

Mr. Choate dehvered an oration at New York, Dec. 22, 1843, 
before the New England Society, in the Tabernacle, on the Pilgrims, 
their character and acts, as constituting one of the heroic periods of 
history. He attributed much of the subsequent course of the Puritans 
to the residence of a thousand leading men of their number at Geneva 
for five years, whither they were driven by the bigoted Queen Mary. 
There they found a republic. He described the valley in which Geneva 
is situated, — its placid lake, the lofty mountains which stand around it ; 
he expatiated upon its laws, its quiet, its independence, its learning, its 
religion ; and finished the description with the exclamation, ' ' There 
they found a commonwealth without a king, and a church without a 
bishop," which received such a burst of emotion, long and loud, as 
never before resounded in the Tabernacle. Mr. Choate attends the 
Essex-street Congregational church, at Boston ; and this bold sectarian 
allusion so sensibly affected those of the Episcopal order, that it forth- 
with prompted remarks from Rev. Dr. Wainwright, at the public 
dinner of the occasion on that day, which elicited a warm controversy, 
that continued for a twelvemonth. 

In this connection, we introduce the highly felicitous allusion of 
Daniel Webster to the Mayflower, at the dinner of the New England 
Pilgrim Society, apropos to a miniature model of that vessel which was 
on the table. "There was," said Mr. Webster, "in ancient times, a 
ship which carried Jason on his voyage for the acquisition of the golden 
fleece ; there was a ship at the battle of Actium which made Augustus 
Caesar master of the world ; there have been famous ships which bore 
to victory a Drake, a Howe, a Nelson ; there are ships which have 
carried our own Hull, Decatur, and Stewart, in triumph. But what 
are they all, as to their chances of remembrance among men, to the 
little bark Mayflower 7 That Mayflower was and is a flower of per- 
petual blossom. It can stand the sultry blasts of summer, resist the 
furious tempests of autumn, and remain untouched by the gales and 



592 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

the frosts of ^Yinter. It can defy all climates and all times. It ■will 
spread its petals over the whole world, and exhale a living odor and 
fragi-ance to the last syllable of recorded time." 

A satirical journalist, remarking of the rhetorical eloquence of Rufus 
Choate in his arguments for the license of spirituous liquors, at Boston, 
in 1847, says that, as he shot his piercing, resolute eyes, hither and 
thither, drew on that solemn face, and poured out those deep tones of 
awful solemnity, rolled up those tremendous climaxes, raised his com- 
manding form upon his toes, came down upon his heels like two paver's 
rammers, and shook the whole firmament of the Common Council cham- 
ber, like an earthquake, we could not but imagine wdiat a sensation he 
would have produced as a revival preacher, or a Richard the Third on 
the stage. But, if he has mistaken his calling to either of the latter 
professions, the mistake is very slight and insignificant. Seeking 
undoubtedly for dramatic effect, he seemed to combine in a high degree 
the talents of all three professions. Choate has a playful sympathy 
with the ludicrous side of things, says Whipple, as, in his speech on the 
Oregon question, in which he uses the figure of the Legislature putting 
its head out of the window, and, in a voice all over the world, speaking 
to the negotiators of the pending treaty, bidding them God speed ; but 
insinuating that, if they did not give up the whole subject in dispute, it 
would be settled by main force. It has been said of Choate, that he 
drives in a substantive and six ; but unlike Burke, who had his reins 
upon them all, each restrained with a care essential to a proper guidance. 

Rufus Choate is more at home as a pleader at the bar than in poht- 
ical speeches or pubHc lectures. "While pleading, his eye flashes, as 
it turns rapitlly from the court to the jury, and the jury to the court. 
Ever remarking, with intuitive sagacity, the slightest traces of emotion 
or thought in the eye, lip, face, position or movement, of the judge, — 
ever reading the soul revealed to him," as one graphically sketches, 
" perhaps to him alone, and comprehended by that mysterious sympathy 
which unites the orator and auditor, as by an electric atmosphere, 
through which thoughts and feelings pass and repass in silence, but in 
power, Choate is aware, with the certainty of genius and the rapid- 
ity of instinct, of the effect he has produced upon the judge, whose 
slightest word, he knows, is weightier than the eloquence of counsel ; 
and, at the first slight intimation of dissent, rapidly, but almost imper- 
ceptibly, modifies, limits and explains, his idea, until he feels the con- 
cert of mental sympathy between mind and mind, — and then, like a 



BUFUS CIIOATE. 593 

steed checked into noble action, or a river raising to burst over its bar- 
riers, with his mind elevated and excited by opposition, he discourses to 
the jury logic, eloquence and poetry, in tones that linger in the mem- 
ory like the parting sound of a cathedral bell, or the dying note of an 
organ. His voice is deep, musical, sad. Thrilling it can be as a fife, 
but it has often a plaintive cadence, as though his soul mourned, amid 
the loud and angry tumults of the forum, for the quiet grove of the 
academy, or in these evil times sighed at the thought of those charms 
and virtues Avhich Ave dare conceive in boyhood, and pursue as men, 
the unreached paradise of our despair." 

The mind of Choate is as rapid as consists with sanity. In the 
attempt to keep pace with him, reporters, as already intimated, throw 
down their pencils in despair. His own pen traces, in the same vain 
attempt, one long, waving, illegible line, scarcely to be read by himself, 
and defying the scrutiny of others. It has been said of him, that, if 
the magnetic telegraph were affixed to his lips, the words would leap 
on the wires. His style is the poetry of prose, with here and there an 
expression, which, to use the questionable expression of Burke, rises 
from poetry into eloquence, some thoughts which entrance, some idea 
which burns. Such is that inimitable comparison, when speaking of 
the principles of Henry Clay. He said they rise like the peaks of 
a lofty mountain-range, from the table-land of all illustrious life. Such 
is that sentiment, worthy of Patrick Henry, the greatest orator of Amer- 
ica, when, in the very words which we may suppose the forest-born 
Demosthenes would have used, he said, '-What ! banish the Bible from 
schools ! Never, while there is a piece of Plymouth Rock left large 
enough to make a gun-flint of ! " The autograph of Mr. Choate, says 
one, somewhat resembles the map of Ohio, and looks like a piece of 
crayon sketching done in the dark, -with a three-pronged fork. His 
hand-writing cannot be deciphered without the aid of a pair of com- 
passes and a quadrant. 

Mr. Choate is a decided advocate for the union of the States. At 
the Union meeting of the 'Wliig and Democratic parties, in Faneuil 
Hall, Nov. 26, 1850, when Dr. John C. Warren presided, the object 
of which was to sustain the Federal Union, uphold its constitution, and 
enforce the duty of obedience to the laws, occasioned by the sensation 
arising from the recent Fugitive Slave Law, Mr. Choate delivered a 
noble speech, in which he said, after a tram of argument : "I submit, 
that the two great political parties of the north are called upon, by 
50* 



594 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

every consideration of patriotism and duty, to strike this whole subject 
from their respective issues. I go for no amalgamation of parties, and 
for the forming of no new party. But I admit the deepest solicitude, 
that those which now exist, preserving their actual organization and 
general principles and aims, — if so it must be, — should to this extent 
coalesce. Neither can act in this behalf eifectually alone. Honorable 
concert is indispensable, and they owe it to the country. Have not 
the eminent men of both these great organizations united on this 
adjustment? Are they not both, primarily, national parties? Is it 
not one of their most important and beautiful uses, that they extend 
the whole length and breadth of our country ; and that they help, or 
ought to help, to hold the extreme north to the extreme south, by a 
tie stronger almost than that of mere patriotism, — by that surest cement 
of friendship, common opinions on the great concerns of the republic? 
You are a Democrat ; and have you not, for thirty-two years in fifty, 
united with the universal Democratic party in the choice of southern 
presidents ? Has it not been your function, for even a larger part of 
the last half-century, to rally with the south for the support of the gen- 
eral administration ? Has it not ever been your boast, your merit as a 
party, that you are in an intense, and even characteristic degree, 
national and unionist in your spirit and politics, although you had your 
origin in the assertion of State rights ; that you have contributed, in 
a thousand ways, to the extension of our territory, and the establish- 
ment of our martial fame, and that you follow the flag on whatever 
field or deck it waves ? And will you, for the sake of a temporary 
victory in a State, or for any other cause, insert an article in your 
creed, and give a direction to your tactics, which shall detach you from 
such companionship, and unfit you for such service in all time to 
come ? 

"You are a Whig. I give my hand on that ; and is not your party 
national, too ? Do you not find your fastest allies at the south ? Do 
you not need the vote of Louisiana, of North Carolina, of Tennessee, 
of Kentucky, to defend you from the redundant capital, matured skill, 
and pauper labor, of Europe ? Did you not just now, with a wise con- 
tempt of sectional issues and sectional noises, unite to call that brave, 
firm and good Old Man, from his plantation, and seat him, with all 
the honors, in the place of Washington ? Circumstances have forced 
both these parties — the northern and the southern divisions of both 
— to suspend for a space the legitimate objects of their institution. For 



GEOKGE TICKNOR CURTIS. 595 

a space, laying them aside, and resolving themselves into our individual 
capacities, we have thought and felt on nothing but slavery. These 
circumstances exist no longer. And shall we not instantly revive the 
old creeds, renew the old ties, and, by a manly and honorable concert, 
resolve to spare America that last calamity, the formation of parties 
according to geographical lines'?" 



GEORGE TICKNOR CURTIS. 

JULY 4, 1841. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

" Our fathers conducted the Revolution against the king's govern- 
ment, and not against the institutions of the country," remarks our 
orator, in this performance. "They tore up no ancient landmarks," 
continues he, " except those which denoted the state of colonial bond- 
age. They proceeded with the machinery of society as they found 
it. The provincial and continental authorities displaced those of the 
crown, and went on to arm the country for civil war, without loosening 
the bonds which held society together. Without resorting to the fiction 
under which Charles I. made war upon the king in the king's name, 
they took up arms for an independent government of their own, and 
not to eradicate the spirit or institutions of that civilization which they 
had derived from home. When, in the Declaration of Independence, 
they set forth the whole substance of the controversy, and the objects 
at which they aimed, moving on some of the most solid principles of 
the British constitution, as well as the inalienable rights of man, they 
clearly demonstrated . that their design was to ' institute new govern- 
ment,' but not to go beyond what the abolition of the old forms 
required. 

" It will be asked, What is the import of this to the present time? 
Not to give it any practical bearing upon any modern subject, I cannot 
but think that this forbearance — whether it was the purpose of a wise 
forecast, or the happy tendency of the national temper, or the result of 
circumstances — was most fortunate for the country. I cannot but 
think that we owe to it, as much as to the lucky accidents of our posi- 
tion, and our vast physical resources, what the country has become. 
Certain and manifest it is, that we OAve to it the fact, that when the 



596 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

country -was freed by the final accomplishment of revolution, society 
did not have to be reconstructed from its foundation ; that only a form 
of government had to be framed, and that immediately ; and, as if from 
a goal on the race-course, the young giant started on his career. Let 
us suppose, — not that our fathers, from the imperious necessity of their 
position, or from a depraved appetite for destruction and overthrow, had 
uprooted the whole foundations of the social state, — but that, with an 
aim to be thorough in their work, stimulated by some degree of political 
hatred, they had banished all they could of British origin, save their 
language and their blood. To narrow the hypothesis to a single illustra- 
tion, let us imagine that, when the last band of British soldiery left the 
shore, the American people had cast after them, into the sea, the Avhole 
body of the law of England ; and had then turned to construct for them- 
selves, out of nothing, a jurisprudence upon which to found the social 
and political relations of the country, — think you that in less than 
three-quarters of a century this country could have reached its present 
height ? Think you that, without history to draw from, — without 
precedent and ancient usage, — without an unwritten law from the 
expansive principles of which public and private rights could derive 
definition and adjustment, — you would have seen this harmonious 
development of society that is now going on'? Think you that the 
pubhc and international relations of the country could have acquired 
that dignity which now belongs to them ; and that the new republic, of 
a little more than sixty years' standing among nations, could have 
spoken, as it has lately spoken, to the parent State, in terms of an 
absolute equality, and with a moral power which may supersede the 
use of arms?" This oration is entitled The True Uses of American 
Revolutionary History. 

George Ticknor, the son of Benjamin Curtis, was born at Water- 
town, Nov. 28, 1812 ; was a graduate of Harvard College in 1832, 
when he gave a literary disquisition on the importance of independent 
criticism on the growth of national literature ; and was a student in the 
Dane Law School. He completed his studies for the profession in the 
office of Charles P. Curtis, at Boston, and was admitted to the Suffolk 
bar in August, 1836. He married, Oct. 1 7, 1844, Mary Oliver, daugh- 
ter of the late Mr. Justice Story. This lady died April 28, 1848. 
He married a second time, at Patterson, N. J., Nov. 6, 1851, Louise 
Adale Mystrom. He is a counsellor-at-law ; was a representative for 
Boston in the State Legislature from 1840 until the year 1844, and 
has been a member of the school-committee at different times. 



GEORGE TICKNOR CURTIS. 597 

Mr. Curtis has prepared more works, for the practical use of the 
pubHc, as author and editor, than any one of his generation at the 
Suffolk bar ; and has indicated, by his intense devotion to the legal 
profession, that he loves the pursuit. It was the opinion of Justice 
Story, regarding his treatise on the Rights and Duties of Merchant 
Seamen, that it is written with great ability, accuracy and learning, and 
is by far the most valuable work on that subject now in existence. The 
digest of the decisions of the courts of Common Law and Admiralty, 
.two volumes of which were prepared by Mr. Curtis, is a monument of 
patient industry. He prepared, also, a digest of cases in the American 
and English Courts of Admiralty. His American Conveyancer, being 
divested of the general technicalities of the law, is of great utility to 
business men. His treatise on the Law of Patents for useful inventions 
in this country, and the remedies for infringement, is invaluable to the 
profession and the proprietors of all useful inventions. The Equity 
Precedents, supplementary to the treatise of Justice Story, ever aids 
the law student. His tract on the true issue of the question relating to 
the demolition of the convent at Charlestown, entitled The Rights of 
Conscience and Property, is written with eloquence and power. The 
most interesting production of Mr. Curtis, to the lovers of literature in 
all professions, and to the general reader, is the treatise on the Law of 
Copyright in Books, Dramatic and jMusical Compositions, Letters and 
other Manuscripts, Engravings and Sculpture, as administered in 
England and America, with some notices of the History of Literary 
Property. We know not how more suitably to revive an interest in 
this work, than to cite the opinion of the North American Review, 
and to advise the printing of a new edition, as it is unknown to our 
public libraries : " The author has avoided the dry and merely tech- 
nical manner which writers on subjects relating to the law seem to 
consider a matter of professional etiquette to adopt. Apart from the 
interest which every man of letters may be supposed to feel in a dis- 
cussion of copyright, he Avill find in Mr. Curtis' work ample scope for 
literary taste. Many curious and valuable details of literary history 
are introduced, and the notes are enriched with copious illustrations, 
drawn from biographies, criticisms and judicial decisions, embodied in 
the most agreeable manner, collected nowhere else." 

In the winter of 1849 Mr. Curtis commenced the delivery of a 
course of twelve lectures on the History of the Constitution of the 
United States, which were closed Feb. 7, 1850. The last of the lee- 



598 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

tures, the subject of which was on the strength of the constitution, was 
pubhshed. They evince a profound knowledge of the philosophy of 
government, a patriotic spirit, and great research. 



HORACE MANN. 

JULY 4, 1842. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

Horace Mann was born at Franklin, in Massachusetts, May 4, 
1796. He was mostly self-educated, being of limited funds. He 
entered Brown University in advance of the customary period, where 
he graduated in 1819, and gave the valedictory address, on the improve- 
ment of the human species in dignity and happiness, and became a tutor 
from 1820 to 1822. "A teacher with whom I partly fitted for col- 
lege. Master Samuel Barrett, an itinerant schoolmaster and a profound 
linguist," says Mr. Mann, "in hearing the ^neid, the select orations 
of Cicero and the four evangelists, in Greek, never took either grammar 
or text-book into his hand ; and he would have considered it an indig- 
nity, if a pupil had offered him one, by which to set the next lesson. 
I know that this ability of his inspired one of his pupils, at least, with 
sentiments of respect towards him, with conceptions of excellence, and 
with an ardor for attainment, such as all the places and prizes ever 
bestowed, and a life of floggings into the bargain, would never have 
imparted. I well remember that, Avhen I encountered a difficulty, 
either in translation or syntax, and was ready to despair of success in 
overcoming it, the mere thought, how easy that would be to my teacher, 
seemed not only to invigorate my effort, but to give me an enlargement 
of power, so that I could return to the charge, and triumph." 

Mr. Mann prepared for the legal profession at the Law School in 
Litchfield, Conn., and read law in the offices of James Richardson and 
Josiah J. Fiske, counsellors-at-law, in Dedham. In 1828 Mr. Mann 
was elected a representative of Dedham, which station he honorably 
filled for several years ; was at the same period a counsellor at the bar. 
It was at about this period that the Hon. Edward Dowse, of Dedham, 
remarked of Horace Mann, that if his talents were equal to his ambi- 
tion, he would become a member of Congress. In 1836 he became a 
resident of Boston, where he was elected for Suffolk to the State Sen- 



HOPwACE MANN. 599 

ate, of which he was chosen president in that year, and until 1839. 
He was the Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, from 
its establishment, June 29, 1837, until 1848; and was successor to 
John Quincy Adams, as member of Congress for Norfolk, from that 
period. He displayed the same persevering energy m pohtical life that 
rendered him so eminent in education reform, and was elected for Nor- 
folk to the next term, 

Horace Mann has been one of the most vigorous originators of 
philanthropic enterprises in New England. When in the Legisla- 
ture, he was the principal advocate and projector of the State Luna- 
tic Hospital, at Worcester, in the year 1831, and wrote all its earlier 
reports. He was an energetic workman in the temperance reformation, 
and was president of the Suffolk County Temperance Society ; and, in 
1S34, published remarks on the comparative profits of grocers and 
retailers, as derived from temperate and intemperate customers. Mr. 
Mann was one of the first members of the State Legislature Avho made 
a speech in favor of the railroad enterprise. He was active in effecting 
the law abolishing the sale of lottery-tickets. One of our periodicals 
said of him : " There is not a town or a school-district in Massachu- 
setts in which his influence has not been felt ; there is not one which 
has not largely profited by the spirit which he has excited, and by the 
improvements which he has introduced. Many new school-houses have 
been erected, and old ones much improved ; appropriations of money to 
the purposes of education have greatly increased ; seminaries for teach- 
ers have been established." Indeed, Mr. Mann originated the Normal 
Schools, patronized by the Legislature, in 1838. Improved systems of 
instruction and discipline have been introduced ; the number of scholars 
is multiplied, and they are far more regular in their attendance at 
school ; — and, finally, an interest in the subject has been aroused, 
which promises still more brilhant results. All this has been effected 
with the assistance of a few individuals, and especially by the liberality 
of the late Hon. Edmund Dwight, of Boston, who supplied large 
funds for the enterprise. Mr. Mann traversed towns, cities and vil- 
lages, lecturing with his best energies, — urged the special regard of 
the Legislature, — wrote letters, essays, circulars and reports, infusing 
his own enthusiasm into every active mind within his grasp. More- 
over, he visited, in 1842, the principal cities in Great Britain, Ger- 
many, Holland, Belgium, returning by the way of France, urging 
forward the moral reform. Gov. Everett, in remarking on the benefit 



600 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

of education in its broadest sense, at a public festival where Horace 
Mann was present, on turning towards him, said, " I need not enlarge 
upon its importance ; but there sits the person — the very apostle of 
this uninspired gospel, Horace Mann — who has told you. over and 
over again, that education is the great interest of every class in this 
community." The Edinburgh Review says of Mann's twelfth report, 
" This volume is, indeed, a noble monument of a civihzed people ; and, 
if America were sunk beneath the waves, would remain the fairest pic- 
ture on record of an ideal commonwealth." 

We regard the four years' administration of Gov. Everett as the 
noblest era in the annals of the old Bay State since the times of Gov. 
Hancock, it having been the period of founding an organization of pop- 
ular school education, and the completion of the great Western Rail- 
road. Shortly after the establishment of the State Board of Educa- 
tion, which owes its origin to his indomitable decision, he advanced the 
forthcoming sentiment, in a speech at Fancuil Hall, after remarking, 
"Talk of pubhc buildings, sir! Let the plain brick school-house go 
down, — and, though we pile our hill-tops with structures that surpass 
the time-defying solidity of Egyptian Thebes, or the immortal grace- 
fulness of Corinth or Athens, they will but stand the gorgeous monu- 
ments of our shame ! " " Education ! — When we feed that lamp, we 
perform the highest social duty ; if we quench it, I know not where 
— (humanly speaking, for time or for eternity), — 

' I know not where is that Promethean heat, 
That can its light relume.' " 

It may truly be said of Horace Mann, that he was a principal 
founder of the new system of public school education in Massachusetts, 
which is the glory of New England. Our State, instead of sending to 
ancient fatherland for counsel and plans of operation, has become the 
guiding star of all Europe, and foreign kingdoms are rapidly adopting 
the school system of the old Bay State. The demand for Mr. Mann's 
State productions was so rapid, that they are all taken up. The twelve 
first annual reports on education, written by our apostle, will ever be 
in demand, and should be published in a permanent form at the expense 
of the State, and given to every member of a school-committee and every 
school-teacher. He has published Lectures on Education, in one vol- 
ume. He was editor of the Common School Journal, from its estab- 
lishment in 1838, and of the Revised Statutes of the State. He was 



HORACE MANN. 601 

one of the original committee that reported in favor of codifying the 
statute law, and was on the committee of revision, the last-named of 
which was in connection with Judge Metcalf 

In remarking on the public indifference towards education, Mr. Mann 
said, in a public lecture : "In our own times, in such low estimation is 
this highest of all causes held, that in these days of conventions for all 
other objects of public interest, — when men go hundreds of miles to 
attend railroad conventions, and cotton conventions, and tobacco con- 
ventions, and Avhen the delegates of political conventions are sometimes 
counted as Xerxes counted his army, by acres and square miles, — yet 
such has often been the depressive effect upon the public of announcing 
a common-school convention and a lecture on education, that I have 
guessed, in my own mind, whether, in regard to two or three counties, 
at least, in our own State, it would not be advisable to alter the law for 
quelling riots and mobs ; and, instead of summoning sheriffs, and armed 
magistrates, and the posse comiiaiiis, for their dispersion, to put them 
to flight by making proclamation of a discourse on common schools." 

Horace Mann, in exhibiting the vast disparity between the remuner- 
ation extended to our school-teachers and those who minister to our 
amusements and vitiate our morals, thus eloquently pleads : " Strolling 
minstrels, catching the eye with grotesque dresses and shouting unin- 
telligible words, are feasted, feted, and garlanded ; and, when a Euro- 
pean dancer, nurtured at the foul breast of theatrical corruption, visits 
our land, the days of idolatry seem to have returned, — wealth flows, 
the incense of praise rises, enthusiasm rages like the mad Bacchantes. 
It is said that Celeste received fifty thousand dollars in this country, in 
one year, for the combined exhibition of skill and person ; and that 
devotee to Venus, Fanny Ellsler, in 1841, was paid the enormous sum 
of sixty thousand dollars in three months, for the same meritorious 
consideration, or value received. In both these cases, a fair proportion 
was contributed in the metropolis of our own State. At the rate of 
compensation at which a majority of the female teachers in Massachu- 
setts have been rewarded for their exhausting toils, it would require 
more than twenty years' continued labor to equal the receipts of Fanny 
Ellsler for a single night ! Thus, in our most populous places, and 
amongst people who profess to lead society, stands the relative suprem- 
acy of sense and soul, of heels and head. And I blush while I reflect 
that, amongst all the daughters of New England who witnessed the unre- 
served displays of these Cyprian women, there was not one to be found 
51 



602 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

in M-hose veins flowed the chaste blood of the Puritan mothers, prompt- 
ing her to approach these female sans culottes backwards, and perform 
for them the same friendly service which, on a like necessity, the sons 
of Noah performed for him. And, although I would not silence one 
note in the burst of admiration with which our young men, Avho assume 
to be the leaders of fashion, respond to the charms of female beauty, 
agility or grace, yet I do desire that, in paying their homage, they 
should distinguish between the Venus Celestial and the Venus Infer- 
nal ! " 

The controversy of Horace Mann, running along three hundred 
pages, in the contest for reform, Avith thirty-one Boston school-teach- 
ers, adds to the lustre of his escutcheon ; and the city teachers might 
as well have attempted, with their own right hands, to stem the force 
of Niagara's dashing waters, or to dam up the St. Lawrence, as to 
restrain the progress of the reform in school education. His sharp 
severity towards the teachers exceeded the tingling sting inflicted by 
them on culpable pupils, which mode he warmly deprecates. It was 
said by the thirty-one, remarks Mr. Mann, that the Hon. Jonathan 
Chapman, '-justly celebrated for his almost intuitive perceptions of the 
public welfare," after two years' ofiicial observation, commended the 
schools, in his inaugural address, in 1842. Yes ; and, in the month 
following, the same gentleman, — and, as I suppose, with the same 
"intuitive perceptions," — being then and there chairman of the 
school-committee, prepared the report, which Avas accepted, — a report 
which bemoans the teachers' scanty resources of general knowledge, by 
whose feeble rills the parched souls of the children were so seldom 
refreshed ; — a report by which it appears that grammar was taught as 
though it had no relation to language, and geography as though it had 
little to do with earth. Not having, as it was affirmed, seen their 
schools, my prurient imagination contented itself with the simile of 
" hybernating animals." 

Our American Junius, in the tenacity of his zeal, pours out strains 
of caustic effective reproof, unequalled by any living man in the midst 
of us, excepting only the vigorous " Sigma," of the Boston Tran- 
script, whose pointed shafts, like the arrows of Hercules, never fail 
of effect. In a tirade of biting sarcasm, levelled at one victim in 
especial of his wrath, he says: "Did I believe that invisible spirits 
were appointed to watch over childi'en and to rescue them from harm, 
and were the edifice to be burned down," — it was destroyed by fire, 



HORACE MANN. 603 

June 25, 1844, but four months previous to the date of the " Reply," 
— " where such a teacher goes daily to lash and dogmatize, I should 
think that some beneficent angel had applied the torch, to scatter the 
pupils beyond the reach of his demoralizing government. As to 
that man, until his nature changes, or my nature changes, we must 
continue to dwell on opposite sides of the moral universe." An 
eclipse of the moon occurring a few weeks afterwards, the Boston 
Post perpetrated the following witticism, under date Nov. 27 : " We 
wonder if the eclipse of the moon, on Sunday night, appeared the 
same to Horace Mann and Barnum Field, they being on opposite sides 
of the moral universe at the same time." Doubtless, this severe allu- 
sion to the truly estimable Mr. Field, who has recently exchanged worlds, 
where no burning anger ever scathes the soul, written in a moment of 
impulsive fire, has often been a source of regret to Mr. Mann, which 
he would gladly, if possible, efface. 

Horace Mann is famous for firm and devoted perseverance. Here is 
the secret of his success. In his person he is tall, very erect, and 
remarkably slender, with silvery gray hair, animated and expressive 
features, light complexion, and rapid pace. As an orator, his smooth, 
flowing style, musical voice and graceful manner, with fertility, ampli- 
tude and energy of diction, often adorned with a graceful, rushing elo- 
quence, that can be measured only by the celerity of his movements in 
the street, irresistibly captivate the breathless audience; especially when, 
profoundly absorbed in the midst of his favorite theme, he advances 
arguments illustrated by splendid imagery that cannot be withstood. 
His figures, though strongly efiective, are not uniformly elegant. His 
social powers render him a great centre of attraction, and his society is 
sought wherever he may be found. Horace Mann, like most reform- 
ers, partakes of excessive zeal ; and, in his jealousy for the one absorb- 
ing idea of education, descends to a controversy with a clergyman, 
extending through several pamphlets, abounding on both sides with 
severe philippic. A bust of Mann, by Carew, is the image of the man. 
Let our Mercantile Library and Mechanic's Hall have a niche for it, 
that his energy of character may be emulated. 

Mr. Mann married Charlotte, a daughter of President Messer, who 
died ; and he married a second wife, Mary, daughter of Dr. Nathaniel 
T. Peabody, formerly of Salem. The oration at the head of this arti- 
cle, delivered on our national birthday, establishing the fact that edu- 
cation is the invulnerable shield of this republic, Avas widely circulated 



604 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

among the education tracts published to promote reform. An eminent 
political writer once remarked of our republican institutions, that they 
■were " like white-birch stakes, whose nature is to fail in two years," 
and that " a republic wears out its morals almost as soon as the sap of 
a white-birch rots out the wood." In a vein of sarcastic humor, Mr. 
Mann, in this oration, thus repels the aspei-sion : "If this had been the 
foct, they should forthwith have saturated them with such a prep- 
aration of virtue and knowledge, as would Kyanize, or render inde- 
structible, even the porous structure of birch itself, and thus keep the 
dry rot forever from its spongiest fibres." 

When Horace Mann was elected from the eighth district to Con- 
gress, as the immediate successor of John Quincy Adams, he remarks, 
in reply to his constituents, under date of March 21, 1848: "Fully 
do I agree with you, and the delegates of the convention you represent, 
in saying that the successor of Mr. Adams should be one ' whose voice 
and vote shall, on all occasions, be exercised in extending and securing 
liberty to the human race.' Of course, I do not understand you to 
imply any violation of the constitution of the United States, which 
every representative swears to support. Permit me to say a word per- 
sonal to myself For eleven years I have been estranged from all 
political excitements. During this whole period, I have attended no 
political meeting of any kind whatever. I have contented myself with 
the right of private judgment, and the right of voting; though it has 
usually so happened that my official duties have demanded my absence 
from home at the time of the fall elections. I have deemed this absti- 
nence from actively mingling in political contests both a matter of duty 
towards opposing political parties, and a proper means of subserving the 
best interests of the cause in which I had embarked. I hoped, too, by 
so doing, to assist in rearing men even better than those now belonging 
to any party. The nature of my duties, also, and all my intercourse 
and associations, have attracted me towards whatever is worthy and 
beneficent in all parties, rather than towards what is peculiar to any 
one. Not believing in political pledges, I should have had the honor 
to decline giving any to you, had you not had the first and greater 
honor of asking none from me. After what I have said above in favor 
of liberty for all mankind, it would be a strange contradiction, did I 
consent to be myself a slave of party. The hands which you raised in 
behalf of yourselves and your constituents, when you voted for the noble 
sentiments contained in the resolution I have quoted, could never degrade 



HORACE MANN. 605 

themselves by forging a fetter for the free mind of another; or fastening 
one upon it ; and the hand with which I have penned my hearty response 
to those sentiments can never stretch itself out to take a fetter on." 

In the Drayton trial, which occurred at Washington, December, 
1848, Horace Mann made the point that the servitude of the negroes 
ought to be proved by something else than the claim of the master; 
and likened it to the case of an indictment for stealing foxes, which, 
wild by nature, must be shown to have been caught and subjected. 
While he was enforcing this illustration, the District Attorney wrote 
the following squib, and handed it over to the opposite counsel : 

" To illustrate the point he 's making : 
In larceny, there must be a taking. 
A fox, he says, cannot be stolen. 
Be he young, or be he an old 'un ; 
Pursuing hounds say he 's mistaken, 
At least so far as to the taking." 

It was not long before the following bitter retort, by Mr. Mann, 
was written on the back of the same paper, which was left on the table 
for the serious consideration of the District Attorney. The allusion to 
" ten dollars a bill " regards the fee which the Attorney General, Key, 
received on each of the three hundred and forty-five indictments which 
he caused to be filed against the prisoners of the Pearl : 

" Fox-hunting abroad, and slave-hunting in doors, 
I beg leave to suggest do not run on all-fours ; 
Foxes do not eat foxes, — brute natures have bounds ; 
But Mr. District Attorney, outhounding the hounds, 
Hunts men, women and children, his pockets to fill, 
On three hundred indictments, at ten dollars a bill." 

The political career of Horace Mann, in some respects, was extraor- 
dinary as in that of the education reform, but was not followed by like 
healthy results. On any exciting topic, his temperament is so impuls- 
ive and uncontrollable, that though, in contending with an opponent, the 
wrath of Achilles pervade his spirit, he effects at times a reaction. It has 
been remarked of him, that no public speaker among us commands more 
forcible and logical style of argument than Horace Mann, when divested 
of impassioned personalities ; but that, like one of Tasso's heroes, who 
levelled whole forests with one stroke of the sabre, he should possess 
the "Human Prudence" of Herman Mann, his namesake, would he 
51* 



606 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

be successful on tlie floor of Congress. When in conflict "witli Daniel 
Webster, he pursued a course of unmitigated severity, as sharp as in 
the difierences with the thirtj-one teachers of Boston, which elicited a 
severe rebuke from his Herculean antagonist. 

We will here quote the remarks of Webster, Cass, Moses Stuart, 
and the North American Review, in relation to Horace Mann. 
" Speaking of what I thought the impossibility of the existence of 
African slavery in New Mexico," says Mr. Webster, "I would not 
take pains to uselessly reafiirm an ordinance of nature, or to reenact 
the will of God. Everybody knew that by the will of God I meant 
that expression of the Divine purpose in the work of creation wliich 
had given such a physical formation to the earth in this region as 
necessarily to exclude African slavery from it forever. Everybody 
knew I meant this, and nothing else. To represent me as speaking 
in any other sense was gross injustice. Yet a pamphlet has been 
put into circulation, in which it is said that my remark is ' under- 
taking to settle by mountains and rivers, and not by the ten command- 
ments, the question of human duty.' ' Cease to transcribe,' it adds, 
' upon the statute-book, what our wisest and best men believed to be 
the will of God, in regard to our worldly afiiiirs, and the passions which 
we think appropriate to devils will soon take possession of society.' 
One hardly knows which most to condemn, the nonsense or the dis- 
honesty of such commentaries of another's Avords. I know no passion 
more appropriate to devils than the passion for gross misrepresentation 
and libel. And others, from whom more fairness might have been 
expected, have not failed to represent me as arguing, or affording 
ground of argument, against human laws to enforce the moral law of 
the Deity. Such persons knew my meaning very well. They chose to 
pervert and misrepresent it. That is all." Lewis Cass, who had also 
taken the position of Mr. Webster, — that the physical circumstances 
of New Mexico will prevent the introduction of slavery in that country, 
— thus alludes to Horace Mann, in a speech, Avherein he remarks that 
Mr. Mann says he speaks respectfully of those from whom he dissents, 
" while, at the same time, he attributes the motives of those who difier 
from him to what he says is ' technically a bid,' committing the too com- 
mon error of measuring all other men by his own standard, after making 
that standard a mercenary one. It is evident he cannot conceive how 
a public man can act without 'a bid.' And, with a modesty and 
charity worthy of the school of dialectics of which I understand he is 



HORACE MANN. 607 

a distinguished professor, lie assigns to me the preeminence of making 
a greater 'sacrifice of consistency, honor and truth,' than any other 
pubhc man, because I was the accepted candidate of the Democracy 
for the office of president. It has been my fortune to receive some 
compHmentary notices, during my life ; but rarely have I received a 
more acceptable one than the honor of such a censure from such a 
Mann. But he is not partial in his favors. He speaks of the ' wag- 
gery ' of the distinguished senator from Kentucky, and of his ' jDractical 
joke,' in the effort to put a stop to the agitation of his country, and of 
' the roar of laughter ' which, ' like Vifeii dejoie, would run down the 
course of ages,' were it not for its horrible consequences. Shade of 
Quintilian ! what a figure for a disciple who invokes thy name, and 
appeals to thy authority ! " Moses Stuart says of him, in " Con- 
science and the Constitution," that he can never speak of him but 
with respect. "The glowing ardor and eloquence of his composi- 
tions, the intense love of liberty with which he is inspired, the humanity 
by which he is actuated, the fine, scholar-like accomplishments which 
he exhibits, all command my respect and admiration. Whether his 
judgment and prudence are equal to his ardor and his energy, is an- 
other question, which is not before my tribunal. He professes the 
strongest regard and the highest respect for INIr. Webster, and avows, 
solemnly, his intention to treat him in a manner that corresponds with 
this avowal. But his impetuosity led him astray, after all. I do not 
suppose that such a gentleman as I take Mr, Mann to be designed 
to compliment himself, when he speaks of his words being cool as the 
iron of the telegraph wire, while his mind is like the lightning which 
darts through it. I am ready to acknowledge that there is not a little 
of the electric fire in Mr. ^lann ; but I cannot overlook the fact that 
this fire can sometimes scorch and smite doAvn, as well as be the swift 
messenger of tidings. If ]\Ir. Mann has performed something of the 
last office of electricity, he has given us, also, a pretty fair specimen 
of the first, ' A wanton surrender of the right of the north,' is 
not to be said of Daniel Webster. Swords would leap, if it were 
lawful and necessary, from hundreds of thousands of scabbards, to 
defend him against such an assault." The North American Review 
inquires, " Does Mr. Mann wish to be understood that he thinks the 
slave-owner is quite as likely to remove his slaves of African descent 
from a sunny and fertile region, producing an abundance of cotton, 
sugar and rice, to a cold and mountainous one, yielding little but 



608 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

maize and potatoes, as he is to keep them -fthere they are ) If not, — 
if he admits that so great a difference will probably induce most plant- 
ers to keep their slaves at home, then, and to the full extent of such 
admission, he himself argues from physics to metaphysics, and 'deter- 
mines the law of the spirit by geographical phenomena,' and 'under- 
takes to settle, by mountains and rivers, the questioh of human duty,' 
and ' looks at the thermometer to ascertain whether the people will 
obey the divine command,' and does half-a-dozen other antithetical and 
strange things ; which all, however, amount to the same thing, namely, 
to the simple proposition, that men of property are usually also men 
of sense, and will not often remove their property from a place where 
it is valuable to one where it will be entirely worthless." The North 
American, however, gives Mr. Mann the credit of urging the ablest 
argument in favor of doing nothing that they have seen, or of insisting 
that the extreme northern doctrine shall be carried out upon every 
point, yielding to the south nothing, and of course giving up the hope 
of a settlement. 

The blood of sorrow mantles on our cheeks, that Horace Mann, the 
very apostle of education, whom Andrew Combe has compared to Rich- 
ard Cobden, as being equally at home with the facts and principles of 
education, and as fully sincere and in earnest, should, in a burst of 
vituperation, descend to such impulsive retort, in his rejoinder to Gen. 
Cass, as his epigrammatic puns here evince. 

" As a general rule, I contemn punning," says Mr. Mann. "As a 
malignant attack upon any gentleman, for the accident of his name, it 
is wholly unpardonable. It is but barely justifiable, as a retort. To 
warn the general of the danger he encounters by indulging his love of 
punning, I will venture to subjoin a specimen or two of what might be 
easily and indefinitely extended: 

" 1. PniLOLOGICALLY. 

Small odds 'twixt tweedledum and tweedledee, 
And Cass means much the same without the C. 

2. NUMERICALLT. 

This Ass is very big ; then call him CASS. 
C's Roman for 100, — a hundred times an Ass. 

3. Chemically. 
The prophet boldly saith, ' All flesh is grass,' 
But thistle-eating donkey's flesh is Cass ; 
Cass is carbonate, whose base is Ass. 



CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. 609 

" Wliile Gen. Cass held territorial ofiBces, he became renowned for 
the enormous quantities of rations he consumed. I have forgotten 
whether the number was such as to be represented bj the Roman 
numeral L or C, the initial of his first or of his last name. If the latter, 
it would suggest the following : 

"4. Gastkonomicallt. 
Greedier than he that starved 'twixt stacks of hay, — 

An honest ass, — 
Our Jack devours C rations every day : 

Hence y'clept CASS. 

"I might," continues Mr. Mann, " thus carry the general through 
all the arts and sciences ; but, if he is now disposed to saj ' quits,' on 
the score of punning, I am, and will draw no more upon the assinifie 
or Cassinine associations which his name suggests." 

" Life is a book of which we can have but one edition," says Horace 
Mann; "as it is at first prepared, it must stand forever. Let each 
day's actions, as they add another page to the indestructible volume, be 
such that we shall be willing to have an assembled world to read it." 
Moreover, may we be watchful that the last chapter in the book shall 
be signalized by such a reform of past errors, and such devotion to past 
virtues, that the rising generation may resist the former, and cling to 
the latter. 



CHAELES FRANCIS ADAMS. 

JULY 4, 1843. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

Our orator, after enlarging on the warlike spirit of our country, and 
its danger, remarks that " we may be informed that the great remedy is 
universal education. Only provide the school, and you will obtain the 
intelligent voter, conscious of the blessings he enjoys, and always ready 
to act in a manner that shall best preserve them. Now, it is by no means 
my disposition to undervalue the advantages that unquestionably follow 
from instruction generally diflfused. I see and admit that it must form 
one of the pillars of our republican system of government. But it is 



610 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

only one, and that not the most essential. What is there, I would ask, 
in the mere advancement of the intellectual powers of men, which will 
lead to effective resistance against the dazzling qualities of a successful 
warrior 7 Did Napoleon have no servile flatterers among the literary 
men of France ? Have not poets, and historians, and orators, of all 
ages, united in extolling military success above every other kind of 
success ? Do the annals of mankind award the proper degree of cen- 
sure to the crimes of great conquerors, from Alexander the Great down 
to Cortez and Pizarro 1 Fellow-citizens ! Our fathers manifested their 
patriotism by devotion to a p?^lnclple. It was in defence of that prin- 
ciple that they took up arms. They manifested no aggressive spirit, 
— no disposition merely to acquire. The same temper will be main- 
tained among us only by developing the high moral attributes of our 
nature, through the agency of a mild and catholic religious faith. This 
is the true sheet-anchor of our free institutions, and this can never be 
secured by mere instruction of the mind. Our people's highest duty, 
as a people, is self-restraint. The cry has gone out among us, Educate, 
educate, — as if the schoolmaster were the sovereign remedy against 
the ills which unregulated passions occasion. But I would ask whether 
education has contributed nothing heretofore to the nursing of immod- 
erate ambition? Has it never furnished fuel for unjustifiable popular 
excitement? Does it supply no means to confuse instead of clearing 
the sense of right and wrong 7 Does it never pander to power, whether 
residing in the many or in one man 1 Was not Julius Coesar one of 
the most educated men of antiquity, — and yet how did this promote his 
patriotism 7 And, almost within our own day, do we not know that the 
most cultivated minds of France combined in an attempt to overthrow at 
once its religion and its social system 7 Yes : the fertile fields of that 
magnificent country were drenched with the blood of multitudes of its 
best citizens, because the arrogant intellect of its educated men chose 
to institute an idol-worship of philosophy for faith in the true God, 
and respect for the moral ties which bind man in society with his 
fellow-man. 

Charles Francis, son of John Quincy Adams, was born at Boston, 
Aug. 18, 1807. When his father sailed for St. Petersburg, as minis- 
ter to Russia, in the summer of 1809, the infant Charles and his 
mother went also with him, and he is the only surviving son. He 
entered the Boston Latin School in 1816, and graduated at Harvard 
College in 1825. He was a student at law in Washington city, and is 



CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. 611 

a counsellor. He married Abigail Brown, a daughter of Hon. Peter 
C. Brooks. He was a representative to the Legislature of Massachu- 
setts in 1841-44, a member of the State Senate in 1845-6, when he 
was chairman of the joint committee on the library, which reported that 
the New England Historic and Genealogical Society, who had applied 
to the Legislature for an act of incorporation, have leave to withdraw 
their petition. This report was rejected, and an act was granted, and 
approved by the governor, an early member, March 18, 1845. "While 
Charles Francis Adams opposed its incorporation, — being of opinion, it 
is said, that one historical society for this State was sufficient, — yet, 
his honored father, who was elected a member Feb. 20,1845, remarked, 
in his letter of acknowledgment to this institution, " I accept gratefully 
this testimonial of esteem, and shall be happy if it may be in my power 
to contribute in any manner to the laudable purposes of the society." 
And President Fillmore sent a very cordial letter of acceptance in the 
same period, giving an outhne of his family ancestry. Mr. Adams has 
since proved his friendly disposition to the society, by a donation of his 
grandfather's writings. The objects of this historical society cover a 
ground not embraced by any similar institution ; and so popular has it 
become, that, during a period of five years, it has risen to five hundred 
members. Its periodical, the New England Historical and Genealog- 
ical Register, which has reached its sixth volume, exceeding twenty-five 
hundred pages, is a work of great public benefit, on topics not viewed 
in any other work. 

The poHtical history of Mr. Adams is identified with the origin and 
progress of the Free Soil party. He was the president of the BuiFalo 
Convention, Aug. 8, 1848. Nearly all the free States, with several 
of the slave States, were represented. The deliberations of the con- 
vention, continued for three days, were signally harmonious and digni- 
fied, and resulted in the nomination of Martin Van Buren for presi- 
dent, and Charles Francis Adams for vice-president. The resolutions 
of this convention, usually denominated the Buffalo Platform, exhibit 
an outline of the principles of the Free Soil party. 

Mr. Charles Sumner, in a speech at Faneuil Hall, Aug. 22, 1848, 
when he was moderator, on its ratification by the party, remarked, 
that the convention "not only propose to guard the territories against 
slavery, but to relieve the federal government from all responsibility 
therefor, everywhere within the sphere of its constitutional powers." 
" The old and ill-compacted party organizations are broken, and from 



612 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

their ruins is now formed a new party — the 2^<^^'iy of freedom. 
There are good men who longed for this, and have died without the sight. 
John Quincj Adams longed for it. AVilliam Ellery Channing longed 
for it. Their spirits hover over us, and urge us to persevere." In 
allusion to Charles Francis Adams, as the candidate for the vice-presi- 
dency, Charles Sumner further said, " Standing, as I now do, beneath 
the images of his father and grandfather, it will be sufficient if I say 
that he is the heir, not only to their name, but to the virtues, the abil- 
ities, and the indomitable spirit, that rendered that name so illustrious." 
"We found now a new party. Its corner-stone is freedom. Its 
broad, all-sustaining arches are, truth, justice and humanity. Like 
the ancient Roman capitol, at once a temple and a citadel, it shall be 
the fit shrine of the genius of American institutions." 

Mr. Adams was an editor of the Boston Daily Whig, afterAvards 
merged in the Republican, a Fi-ee Soil paper, now superseded by the 
Commonwealth. He was the author of Reflections on the Currency 
of the United States, a pamphlet of forty pages, published in 1837. 
He published the Memoir and Letters of Mrs. Abigail Adams, and the 
Letters of John Adams, with Notes. He is the editor, also, of the 
Life, Diary and Works of John Adams, with appropriate notes, to com- 
prise nine large volumes, which is. emphatically, an inestimable 
national acquisition. We find a singular discrepancy in a note of Mr. 
Adams, the editor, in allusion to a remark of Dr. Johnson in relation 
to Thomas Cushing, Speaker of the House, in the period of the Revo- 
lution, wherein Mr. Adams states that " He is the person, concerning 
whose position Dr. Johnson, in ' Taxation no Tyranny,' made his sin- 
gular blunder. ' One object of the Americans is said to be, to adorn 

the brows of Mr. C g with a diadem.' " We have examined the 

first and third London editions of Dr. Johnson's production, published 
in 1775, by Cadell; and we copy the paragraph verbatim, as it stands 
in both editions. In a vein of sarcasm, the great lexicographer says : 
" Since the Americans have discovered that they can make a parlia- 
ment, whence comes it that they do not think themselves equally em- 
powered to make a king? If they are subjects, whose government is 
constituted by a charter, they can form no body of independent legis- 
lature. If their rights are inherent and underived, they may by their 
own suffrages encircle with a diadem the brows of Mr. Cushing." 
Thus, it is evident that, instead of Dr. Johnson asserting that it was 
the intention of the people to make Cushing the king of America, he 



PELEa WHITMAN CHANDLER. 613 

merely expressed the opinion that, if their rights were underived, they 
might, by their own votes, elevate Gushing to an American throne. 



PELEG WHITMAN CHANDLER. 

JULY 4, 1844. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

In the very superior performance of Mr. Chandler appears a passage 
on the dangers of party organizations, abounding in conceptions of 
political wisdom. " I do not deprecate party spirit as the worst of 
evils. In a form of government like our own, it is necessary that 
pohtical principles should be earnestly discussed, and the claims of 
candidates thoroughly canvassed, — and this may be done with zeal, 
energy, enthusiasm, and yet the kindest feelings preserved. I have 
no sympathy with those who are continually lamenting the party spirit 
of our day, and at the same time join themselves to other organizations, 
in which it is easier to obtain power and influence. There are always 
disappointed men who constantly complain of party discipline, without 
lifting a finger to improve it. Too selfish to devote their time to 
accomplish a reform, they are contented with sounding a perpetual 
alarm. Too feeble to lead, and too proud to serve, they watch, with 
an impatient eye, the movements of others, but are always ready to 
accept of favors from either side. Nor do I believe that party spirit 
is so extensively felt, and party organizations so strict, as is generally 
supposed. On this point we are liable to be deceived by appearances. 
Active pohticians, partisan leaders, are comparatively few, although 
they usually make the noise of many. To hear their harangues on 
the eve of an election, one would suppose that the fiible of Chicken 
Little was about to become a truth, and that the sky was actually fall- 
ing ; and so, from the statements in party newspapers, we often seem 
to be on the eve of a revolution ; but the great mass of the people, in 
reality, take very little interest in the matter. ' Because half a dozen 
grasshoppers under a fern,' says Burke, 'make the field ring with 
their importunate chink, while thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath 
the shade, chew the cud, and are silent, do not imagine that those who 
make the noise are the only inhabitants of the fields ; that they are, 
of course, many in number ; or that, after all, they are other than the 
52 



G14 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

little, shrivelled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects 
of the hour.' 

" It is also to be taken into the account, that selfish party politicians 
operate as a check upon each other. The ins are exerting all their 
strength to keep in, and the outs are doing all they can to get in ; 
meanwhile, sober and industrious citizens are ordinarily too much 
occupied with their own practical concerns to give much attention to 
either ; and I apprehend more danger from this indifference to politics 
on the part of the people, than from the excess of party spirit. They 
who are familiar with election returns are aware that most great polit- 
ical revolutions are effected, not so much by the change of opinion 
among those who ordinarily exercise the elective franchise, as by the 
votes of those who do not usually perform this duty. There is, in this 
country, an immense reserved corps of voters, who only come out upon 
extraordinary occasions ; and, so far as party discipline tends to bring 
out these voters, it is a positive good, and they who, from good motives, 
engage in political organizations of this sort, are really entitled to great 
credit. 

" Infinitely more danger is to be apprehended from those organiza- 
tions which involve the consideration of great moral questions, which 
are hurrying forward with a zeal that knows no reason, and an enthu- 
siasm that cannot be restrained. The doctrine is practically maintained, 
that men may do acts as a society, for the accomplishment of a good 
object, which it would not be lawful for them to do as individuals. 
Such a principle as this is dangerous to the State ; it is disorganizing 
in its tendency, and destructive of all true freedom. An association 
founded upon such a principle is, in effect, a moral mob, — a conspiracy 
upon the rights and happiness of the people. What is a riot more 
than this ? Here, if the end will justify the means, — if men in a society 
may do what it would not be right for them to do as individuals, a 
perfect defence is made out, — for there has hardly been a riot, within 
the memory of man, where the end proposed was not regarded by those 
engaged in it as plausible and just. What is a riot, but the joining 
together of men to accomplish some good object in a less space of time 
than it could otherwise be effected ; to hasten that which the laws will 
too slowly reach ; to act in aid of Divine justice in the punishment of 
some crime, or attempt, — to borrow a daring German expression, — to 
grind down the gaps in the sword of Almighty justice ? 

" It will be found that the riots of our day differ, in an important 



PELEG WHITMAN CHANDLER, 615 

particular, from those of an earlier date ; and the fact is remarkable, as 
tending to show that these lawless outbreaks are only the external and 
gross manifestation of the principles advocated bj other associations. 
They are no longer the sudden ebullitions of passion and rage, rushing 
forward without aim or end, and rendered comparatively harmless by 
the want of system and skilful directors, but they have become organ- 
ized bodies, with conspicuous leaders, and with plans deliberately 
made. They go forward to the accomplishment of their object with a 
coolness and deliberation, that wins for them, in some instances, the 
title of respectability. We sometimes hear of a mob of gentlemen, — a 
quiet assemblage,— a peaceable gathering, which calmly accomplished 
its object, and dispersed. We read of courts regularly conducted to 
try culprits by Lynch law ; and a tribunal of this sort, which orders 
the burning of a negro, or the public whipping of a thief, or the expul- 
sion of gamblers from a town, or the destruction of a newspaper press, 
is not seldom praised, by implication at least, for the order and regu- 
larity of its proceedings." 

Peleg Whitman Chandler was born at New Gloucester, Maine, April 
12, 1816; fitted for college at Bangor Seminary, in the classical 
department; graduated at Bowdoin College in 1834, Avhen his subject 
was the Character and Genius of Byron ; entered the Dane Law 
School, at Cambridge ; and pursued legal studies in the office of The- 
ophilus Parsons, Esq., at Boston. He was admitted to the bar in 
Boston, 1837. Before ;Mr. Chandler was admitted to the bar, he was 
reporter, for the Boston Daily Advertiser, of law cases in the higher 
courts, and was, during ten years, connected with that paper. He is a 
counsellor eminent for chamber advice ; was three years a member of 
the city Council, and its president in 1844-5. He married, Nov. 30, 
1837, Martha Ann Bush, daughter of Professor Parker Cleaveland; 
and was a State representative from 1840 to 1846. In the important 
station of city solicitor, which he has occupied since 1848, Mr. Chandler 
has sustained himself with a prompt energy and wise forecast. 

" The fulsome flattery," remarks the North American Review, "with 
which Fourth-of-July orators have been very generally in the habit of 
entertaining their audiences, has been made to give place to wiser and 
better views ; to the lessons and warnings of experience ; to admonitions 
upon our national faults, and to the circulation of a higher system of 
national morality and honor. While, on the one hand, the orator does 
not fail to see the faults and follies which our popular organizations 



616 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

have often manifested, on the other, he does not fall into the strain of 
sinister forebodings which many eminent citizens feel it impossible to 
avoid, in contemplation of the outbreaks of that anarchical spirit with 
which the history of recent times has been in some quarters mournfully 
signalized." JNIr. Chandler originated the Law Reporter, which he 
conducted for the first ten years ; and in his style exhibited clearness, 
force, purity, and sound legal learning. It is a journal of practical 
service to the bar and men of business. His American Criminal Trials, 
commencing with the case of Anne Hutchinson, including the best 
statement extant of the trial of the British soldiers in the massacre of 
1770, is a valuable work, that should be brought down to a later pe- 
riod. It has been published, also, in London. The Bankrupt Law 
of the United States, and an Outhne of the System, with Rules and 
Forms in Massachusetts, was prepared by Mr. Chandler. The elab- 
orate review of the D'Hauteville case, in the Law Reporter, 1841, 
wherein he very learnedly argues in favor of the precedence of the 
father to the custody of the children, in cases of divorce, will often be 
cited in our courts. 

As an instance of the playful humor of Mr. Chandler, we will relate 
an incident which occurred at the dinner of the city authorities, July 
4, 1848. Mayor Quincy, junior, who presided, announced the recep- 
tion of a note complaining that the candles had burnt out, and gentle- 
men could not light their cigars, suggesting that, as there was a 
Chandler present, he should give them the benefit of his art. The 
Chandler was not forthcoming, which gave occasion for the following 
order from the mayor, — " Mr. City Solicitor, you will please give your 
attention to this case;" whereupon, Peleg W. Chandler arose, and 
censured the conception of engaging unmarried men to dehver orations, 
— My. Giles, the present orator, being a bachelor, — and he hoped an 
order would be passed, regulating this matter. Mr. Chandler's remarks 
were principally directed to the bachelor state of the orator of the day. 
He was surprised to see liim enter Tremont Temple, take his stand 
coolly upon the platform, surrounded with a bevy of young beauties — 
the girls of the public schools, — and discourse upon responsibilities. 
What responsibihties had he 7 Here some arch hits were made at an 
old bachelor's virtues, which excited the loud laughter of the assembly. 
The Avitty solicitor concluded, with hoping that the orator, when he 
retired for the night to his attic and his narrow couch, would ponder 
well upon what he had said. It was his fault that he was not married, 



CHARLES SUMNER. 617 

for many men, twice as homelj-looking, liad wives, — and here a queer 
allusion was made to somebody on the platform, that had been married 
twenty years, Mr. Chandler's eye being upon his honor the mayor. 
"If," said the solicitor, "the orator should address any woman with 
half the eloquence he had employed in his oration, she would have to 
give him her heart." 



CHAKLES SUMNER. 

JULY 4, 1845. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

" Let it not be forgotten," says our orator, " that the virtues which 
shed their charm over the annals of war, in all its horrors, are all bor- 
rowed of peace, — they are emanations of the spirit of love, Avhich is so 
strong in the heart of man that it survives the rudest assaults. The 
flowers of gentleness, of kindness, of fidelity, of humanity, which flour- 
ish in unregarded luxuriance in the rich meadows of peace, receive 
unwonted admiration Avhen we discern them in war, — like violets, 
shedding their perfume on the perilous edges of the precipice, beyond 
the smiling borders of civilization. God be praised for all the exam- 
ples of magnanimous virtue which he has vouchsafed to mankind ! 
God be praised that the Roman emperor, about to start on a distant 
expedition of war, encompassed by squadrons of cavalry, and by golden 
eagles which swayed in the winds, stooped from his saddle to listen to 
the prayer of the humble widow, demanding justice for the death of 
her son ! God be praised that Sydney, on the field of battle, gave, 
with dying hand, the cup of cold water to the dying soldier ! That 
single act of self-forgetful sacrifice has consecrated the fenny field of 
Zutphen far, oh ! far beyond its battle ; it has consecrated thy name, 
gallant Sydney, beyond any feat of thy sword, beyond any triumph of 
thy pen ! But there are humble suppliants for justice in other places 
than the camp; there are hands outstretched elsewhere than on 
fields of blood for so little as a cup of water ; the world constantly 
affords opportunities for deeds of like greatness. But, remember well, 
that these are not the product of war. They do not spring from 
enmity, hatred and strife, but from those benign sentiments whose nat- 
ural and ripened fruit of joy and blessing can only be found in peace. 
52* 



618 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

If, at any time, they appear in the soldier, it is not because, but not- 
withstanding, he is the hirehng of battle. Let me not be told, then, 
of the virtues of war. Let not the acts of generosity and sacrifice 
which 'have blossomed on its fields be invoked in its defence. From 
such a great root of bitterness no true good can spring. The poisonous 
tree, in oriental imagery, though watered by nectar and covered with 
roses, can produce only the fruit of death. * * * * And yet 
Christ and Mars are still brought into fellowship. Let us see them 
together. There is now floating in this harbor a ship-of-the-line of 
our country. Many of you have, perhaps, pressed its deck, and 
observed, with admiration, the completeness which prevails in all its 
parts, — its lithe masts, and complete net- work of ropes, — its thick 
wooden walls, within which are more than the soldiers of Ulysses, — 
its strong defences, and numerous dread and rude-throated engines of 
war. There, each Sabbath, amidst this armament of blood, while the 
wave comes gently plashing against the frowning sides, from a pulpit 
supported by a cannon, — in repose now, but ready to awaken its dor- 
mant thunder, charged with death, — a Christian preacher addresses 
the officers and crew. May his instructions carry strength and succor 
to their soijls ! But he cannot pronounce, in such a place, those high- 
est words of the Master he professes, 'Blessed are the peace-makers,' 
' Love your enemies,' ' Render not evil for evil.' Like Macbeth' s 
' Amen,' they must stick in his throat ! " 

Charles Sumner, a son of Charles Pinckney Sumner, the High 
Sherifi"of Suffolk, Avas born in Boston, Jan. 6, 1811. His birth-place 
was on the location of the Bowdoin schoolhouse. He was fitted for 
college at the Boston Latin School, where he bore off the prizes for 
English composition and Latin poetry, besides the Franklin medal, at 
the end of his course. During this period he was a devoted student 
of history, often rising before daylight to read Hume and Gibbon. In 
allusion to youthful associations, Mr. Sumner once expressively re- 
marked, "We incline, by a natural emotion, to the spot Avhere we 
were born, to the fields which witnessed the sports of childhood, to the 
seat of youthful studies, and to the institutions under which we have 
been trained. The finger of God writes all these things, in indelible 
colors, on the heart of man ; so that, in the di-ead extremities of death, 
he reverts, in fondness, to early associations, and longs for a draught of 
cold water from the bucket in his father's well." His father's family 
attended divine worship at Trinity Church ; and, doubtless, the influ- 



CHAKLES SUMNER. 619 

ence of the rector, the late Rev. Dr. Gardiner, in the illustrations of cat- 
echetical instruction and learned pulpit discourse, contributed greatly 
to the moulding of his literary taste. How obvious is the warm love 
of his native city, where he exclaims, " Boston has always led the gen- 
erous and magnanimous actions of our history. Boston led the cause of 
the Revolution. Here was commenced that discussion, pregnant with 
the independence of the colonies, which, at first occupying a few warm 
but true spirits only, finally absorbed all the best energies of the conti- 
nent, — the eloquence of Adams, the patriotism of Jefierson, the wisdom 
of Washington. Boston is the home of noble charities, the nurse of true 
learning, the city of churches. By all these tokens she stands con- 
spicuous, and other parts of the country are not unwilling to follow 
her example. Athens was called the eye of Greece, — Boston may be 
called the eye of America ; and the influence which she exerts is to be 
referred, not to her size, — for there are other cities larger far, — but 
to her moral and intellectual character." 

Through the whole range of this work, we have alluded to the liter- 
ary festival of commencement, whenever the occasion offered ; and we 
cannot forbear citing a passage from Sumner to the point. " The 
ingenuous student, who has passed his term of years — a classical 
Olympiad — amidst the restraints of the academy, in the daily pursuits 
of the lecture-room, observant of forms, obsequious to the college cur- 
few, now renounces those restraints, heeds no longer the summoning 
bell, divests himself of the youthful gown, and here, under the auspices 
of Alma Mater, assumes the robe of manhood. At such a change, the 
mind and heart are open to receive impressions which may send their 
influence through remaining life. A seasonable word to-day may, 
peradventure, like an acorn dropped into a propitious soil, send 
upwards its invigorating growth, till its stately trunk, its multitudinous 
branches, and sheltering foliage, shall become an ornament and a pro- 
tection of unspeakable beauty." 

Mr. Sumner graduated at Harvard College in 1830, when he took 
a part in a conference on the Roman ceremonies, the system of the 
Druids, the religion of the Hindoos, and the superstition of the Amer- 
ican Indians. After having devoted his mind to literary studies until 
1831, he entered the Law School at Cambridge, where he was assidu- 
ous in the study of juridical science, never relying upon the text-books, 
but sought the original sources, read all the authorities and references, 
and made himself familiar with books of the common law, from the 



620 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. • 

Year Books, in uncouth Norman, down to the latest Reports. It was 
said that he could go into the law library, of which he was the libra- 
rian, and find any volume in the dark, when in their proper places. 
While still a pupil, he wrote several articles in the " American Jurist," 
which were creditable to his reputation. He read law for a period in 
the office of Benjamin Rand, a counsellor of Boston, and was admitted 
to the bar at Worcester in 1831, and forthwith commenced practice in 
Boston, 1834, when he was appointed Reporter of the Circuit Court, 
in which capacity he published three volumes, known as " Sumner's 
Reports." Before his admission to the bar, he became the principal 
editor of the " American Jurist," at which period he detected a curious 
error of so great a name in the law as Lord Chief Baron Comyns, 
repeated, also, by Chitty, with respect to the action of replevin. Dur- 
ing the first three winters after his admission to the bar, Avhile Judge 
Story was absent at Washington, he lectured to the law students at 
Cambridge, having the sole charge of Dane School, for part of the 
time, during the absence of Professor Greenleaf, and performed hke 
duties during Judge Story's illness, in 1843. Mr. Sumner was the 
editor of " A Treatise on the Practice of the Courts of Admiralty in 
Civil Causes of Maritime Jurisdiction, by Andrew Dunlap," with a 
valuable appendix and indexes, amounting to more matter than the 
original treatise, published at Philadelphia, in 1836. This labor was 
attempted because of the illness of Mr. Dunlap, who died before the 
work was completed, and stated, four days previous to his decease, 
that Mr. Sumner had worked over it "with the zeal of a sincere 
friend, and the accuracy of an excellent lawyer." 

In the autumn of the year 1837, Mr. Sumner departed for 
Europe, where he remained until the spring of 1840. In order to 
show the estimate of his character extended by Judge Story, we here 
extract a passage from his letter of introduction, addressed to a gen- 
tleman in London, — James John Wilkinson, Esq., — under date of 
Nov. 3, 1837 : — " Mr. Sumner is a practising lawyer at the Boston 
bar, of very high reputation for his years, and already giving the 
promise of the most eminent distinction in his profession ; his literary 
and judicial attainments are truly extraordinary. He is one of the 
editors — indeed, the principal editor of the 'American Jurist,' a 
quarterly journal of extensive circulation and celebrity among us, and 
without a rival in America. He is also the reporter of the court in 
which I preside, and has already published two volumes of reports. 



CHAKLES SUMNER. 621 

His private character, also, is of the best kind for purity and pro- 
priety; but, to accomplish himself more thoroughly in the great 
objects of his profession, — not merely to practise, but to extend the 
boundaries in the science of law, — I am very anxious that he should 
possess the means of visiting the courts of Westminster Hall under 
fiivorable auspices : and I shall esteem it a personal favor if you can 
give him any facilities in this particular." 

In Paris, he attended the debates of the Chamber of Deputies, and 
the lectures of all the eminent professors in different departments, at 
the Sorbonne, at the College of France, and particularly in the Law 
School. He became personally acquainted with several of the most 
eminent jurists, — with Baron Degerando, renowned for his works on 
charity ; with Pardessus, at the head of commercial law ; with Foelix, 
editor of the " Review of Foreign Jurisprudence ; " and other famous 
men. He attended a whole term of the Royal Court at Paris, observ- 
ing the forms of procedure ; received kindness from the judges, and 
was allowed to peruse the papers in the cases. His presence at some 
of these trials was noticed in the reports in the law journals. 

In England, a welcome awaited him such as gave gratifying evi- 
dence of the power of an intelligent, upright and accomplished mind, 
accompanied by simplicity and friendliness of manners, to break down 
social barriers. He remained there nearly a year, attending the 
debates in Parliament, hearing all the chief speakers often, and becom- 
ing acquainted with many of them, of all sides in politics. We know 
not the man that is more lovable, companionable and profitable, in 
social intercourse, than is Charles Sumner ; and this letter of Justice 
Story confirms our opinion. 

Mr. Justice Story, in writing to Charles Sumner, under date of 
August 11, 1838, says: "I have received all your letters, and have 
devoured them with unspeakable delight. All the family have heard 
them read aloud, and all join in their expressions of pleasure. You 
are now exactly where I should wish you to be, — among the educated, 
the literary, the noble, and, though last, not least, the learned of Eng- 
land, of good old England, our mother land, God bless her ! Your 
sketches of the bar and bench are deeply interesting to me, and so full 
that I think I can see them in my mind's eye. I must return my 
thanks to Mr. Justice Vaughan for his kindness to you ; it has grati- 
fied me beyond measnte, not merely as a proof of his liberal friend- 
ship, but of his acuteness and tact in the discovery of character. It is 



G22 TUE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

a just homage to your own merits. Your Old Bailey speech was cap- 
ital, and hit, by stating sound truths, in the right way." In another 
passage. Justice Story says to Sumner : " Pray, put your conservative 
friends right as to us in America. We are not all demagogues, or mad, 
conceited democrats. They seem hostile to all of us, and to our insti- 
tutions, from gross mistakes of our opinions and our principles. Why, 
our Whigs are quite as conservative as themselves, making only the 
proper distinctions as to the form of government." 

The cordial hospitality of the bar and judges made him as one of 
themselves. He attended the courts at Westminster Hall ; and more 
than once, at the pressing invitation of the judges, sat by their side at 
the trials. He also observed the courts on the circuit, where he Avas 
often the guest of the bar and bench. At the meeting of the British 
Scientific Association, he experienced the same flattering attentions. 
In town and country, he moved freely in society, to Avhich intelligence 
and refinement, Avealth and worth, lend every charm and grace. Nor 
did the evidence of such respect and confidence pass away with his 
presence. Two years after his return from England, the Quarterly 
Review, alluding to his visit, stepped aside to say : " He presents, in 
his own person, a decisive proof that an American gentleman, without 
official rank or wide-spread reputation, by mere dint of courtesy, can- 
dor, an entire absence of pretension, an appreciating spirit, and a cul- 
tivated mtind, may be received on a perfect footing of equality in the 
best circles, social, political, and intellectual; which, be it observed, 
are hopelessly inaccessible to the itinerant note-taker, who never gets 
beyond the outskirts of the show-houses." Eight years later yet, he 
received a compliment, which, from an English bench, is of the rarest 
occurrence. On an insurance question, before the Court of Exchequer, 
one of the counsel having cited an American case. Baron Parke, the 
ablest of the English judges, asked him what book he quoted. He 
replied, " Sumner's Reports." Baron Rolfe said, " Is that the Mr. 
Sumner who was once in England?" On receiving a reply in the 
affirmative. Baron Parke observed, "We shall not consider it entitled 
to the less attention because reported by a gentleman whom we all 
knew and respected." Not long ago, some of Mr. Sumner's estimates 
of war expenses were quoted by Mr. Cobden, in debate, in the House 
of Commons. 

In Italy, he gave himself to the study of art and literature, and 
finished the reading of all the notable works of that country in his- 



CHARLES SUMNER. 623 

tory, politics, or poetry. While at Rome, Cra'wford took his bust, in 
marble, and it is in the family. In Germany, where his visit was 
shorter, he acquired the regard of the most eminent jurists, — of 
Savigny, Thibaut and Mittermaier, with the latter of whom he has had 
constant correspondence. He was kindly received by Prince Metter- 
nich, and became acquainted with, most of the professors at Heidelberg ; 
and with many other individuals of those most distinguished in science 
and letters, as Humboldt the philosopher, Ranke the historian, and 
Ritter the geographer, at Berlin. 

Mr. Sumner has highly elevated conceptions of the character of the 
legal profession in the United States. When at a social dinner-party 
at Heidelberg, in Germany, where were present the eminent jurists 
Thibaut and Mittermaier, one of them inquired of Mr. Sumner what 
was the position of the American lawyer, and both seemed in earnest 
for an answer. He promptly replied, " No person is his superior. His 
position, gentlemen, if you will pardon me for saying it, is what yours 
would be in Germany, if there were no aristocracy of birth." Both 
seemed penetrated by this allusion ; and, looking each other in the face, 
exclaimed, at once, in apparent consciousness of their true rank, "That 
is very high, indeed." 

While in Europe, he was repeatedly consulted by writers on the law 
of nations. In Paris, at the request of Gov. Cass, he wrote a defence 
of the American claim, in controversy with England, on the north- 
eastern boundary, which was published in " Galignani's Messenger," 
republished in many papers at home, and in the Washington " Globe " 
attributed to Gov. Cass. It was highly commended by that gentle- 
man, who expressed his intention to make it the subject of a special 
despatch. The idea of Mr. Wheaton's last work on the " History of 
the Law of Nations " occurred in conversation at Mr. Sumner's rooms. 
Having conceived the plan of such a treatise, he consulted Mr. Wheaton 
respecting it. Mr. Wheaton afterwards called upon him, and said that 
he proposed to undertake it, unless Mr. Sumner intended to execute 
the plan himself It was to be written for a prize of the French Insti- 
tute. 

On his return from Europe, Mr. Sumner was received in Boston 
with flattering assiduities. He engaged in the practice of his profes- 
sion only to a moderate extent, being now more interested in its science, 
and in other studies. In 1844-6, he published an edition of Vesey's 
Reports, in twenty volumes. In announcing this work, the Boston 



624 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

"Law Reporter" bore testimony to his "distinguished professional 
reputation" and "great professional resources." "Wherever the 
occasion offers itself," said that journal, "the editorial note has been 
expanded, till it assumes something of the port and stature of a brief 
legal dissertation, in which the topics are discussed in the assured man- 
ner of one who feels that his foot is planted upon familiar ground, and 
whose mind is so saturated with legal knowledge, that it readily pours 
it forth at the shghtest pressure, reminding us of those first ' sprightly 
runnings ' of the wine-press extracted by no force but the mere weight of 
the grapes. Mr. Sumner has also introduced a new element into his 
notes. We allude to his biographical notices of the eminent men whose 
names occur in the reports, either in a judicial or forensic capacity, and 
to his occasional historical, political and biographical, illustrations of the 
text. In what may be called the literature of the law, — the curios- 
ities of legal learning, — he has no rival among us." 

On the death of Judge Story, in the autumn of 1845, he was men- 
tioned in the newspapers as the natural successor in the vacant profess- 
orship. Judge Story had said, more than once, " I shall die content, 
so far as my professorship is concerned, if Charles Sumner is to suc- 
ceed me." Chancellor Kent declared that he was "the only person 
in the country competent to succeed Story." Different gentlemen of 
the highest name in jurisprudence, both of Massachusetts and other 
States, proposed to interest themselves with the corporation for his 
appointment ; but he discouraged the movement, saying that, as he was 
unwilling to engage to accept the post, if offered to him, he could not 
sanction any application or suggestion in his behalf It never was 
offered to him. Report said that his opinions on questions of great 
public interest which had then begun to agitate the community weighed 
against him. 

In relation to Mr. Sumner's oration at the head of this article, 
entitled "The True Grandeur of Nations," the Hon. Judge Story 
wrote of it to the author, that " it is certainly a very striking production, 
and will fully sustain your reputation for high talents, various reading, 
and exact scholarship. There are a great many passages in it which 
are wrought out with an exquisite finish, and elegance of diction, and 
classical beauty. I go earnestly and heartily along with many of your 
sentiments and opinions. They are such as befit an exalted mind, and 
an enlarged benevolence. But, from the length and breadth of your 
doctrine as to war, I am compelled to dissent. Li my judgment, 



CHARLES SUMNER. 625 

•war is, under some (although I agree not under many) circumstances, 
not only justifiable, but an indispensable part of public duty ; and if 
the reasoning which you have adopted be sound, it extends far beyond 
the limits to which you have now confined it. It is not, however, my 
intention to discuss the matter at all with you. I am too old to desire 
or even indulge in controversy. No one who knows you can doubt the 
entire sincerity with which you have spoken. All that I desire to 
claim is as sincere a conviction that, in the extent to which you seem 
to press your doctrines, they are not, in my judgment, defensible. In 
many parts of your discourse, I have been struck with the strong 
resemblances Avhich it bears to the manly enthusiasm of Sir James 
Mackintosh ; but I think that he would have differed from you in 
respect to war, and would have maintained a moderation of views 
belonging at once to his philosophy and his life." 

In this performance of Mr. Sumner, at the celebration of independ- 
ence, there is abundant evidence of the ability of the author to distin- 
guish himself as a rhetorician and orator. There are glowing passages 
in this oration, which thrill the very soul. There is here and there a 
pomp of language, says the North American Review, a procession of 
gorgeous periods, that hurries the reader irresistibly and willingly 
along. But these spots are interspersed and intersected by veins and 
seams of quite another ore. We are sometimes surprised and disap- 
pointed by a prosaic dash in the very midst of an eloquent paragraph, 
and occasionally bewildered by a chaotic confusion of metaphors. It 
would be ungrateful and unfair to ransack a popular oration for 
instances of bad taste and faulty expression ; and yet, where a per- 
formance bears ample marks of supplementary additions, Ave could 
wish that the author's privilege of retrenchment had also been more 
liberally exercised. The very confines of courtesy are reached in the 
phrase, "respectable citizens volunteer to look like soldiers," consid- 
ering the circumstances of the occasion. We must also call the author's 
attention to the incongruity of the several kinds of physical elevation 
and moral grandeur that are huddled together in the following pas- 
sage : "As the cedars of Lebanon are higher than the grass of the 
valley ; as the heavens are higher than the earth ; as man is higher 
than the beasts of the field; as the angels are higher than man; as he 
that ruleth his spirit is higher than he that taketh a city, — so are the 
virtues and victories of peace higher than the virtues and victories of 
war." Once more : we cannot conceive how, in his description of the 
53 



62G THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

massacre of the Roman senators bj the Gauls, the author could have 
tortured Livy's in vcstibuUs cedmm into "on a temple." The very 
ingenious and striking parallel drawn by the orator between national 
wars and the old wager of battle, is the most original and effective por- 
tion of the address. It was published in England, in a neat tract 
form, and also in Scotland, by the advocates of peace, and scattered 
over the queen's dominions by the tens of thousands ; and probably no 
national oration was ever more widely circulated, on both sides of the 
Atlantic. It has been carefully revised, and objectionable passages 
expunged. An exuberance of classical allusions is a peculiar defect 
in the compositions of Charles Sumner. 

Mr. Sumner interweaves his peace principles in the admirable sketch 
of Washington AUston, the artist, where he remarks that, early in life, 
Allston had a fondness for pieces representing banditti, but this taste 
does not appear in his later works. And, when asked if he Avould 
undertake to fill the vacant panels in the rotunda of the capitol at 
Washington, should Congress determine to order such a work, he is 
reported to have said, in memorable words, " I will paint only one sub- 
ject, and choose my own; no battle-piece." This decision Mr. Sum- 
ner urges as an anti-war appeal, though it may have been a matter of 
individual taste. This is about equivalent, in effect, says a critic, to a 
clergyman forbidding from the pulpit the handling, by artists, of heathen 
subjects ; Avaging a warfare, in the name of Christianity, against Bac- 
chus, Jupiter and Apollo, on the walls of our parlors ; the idolatry of 
cameos and breastpins, and the damnatory influences of pagan bronzes 
and letter-seals. If a painter has the genius of Vernet, or a Wou- 
vermans, for battle-pieces, in the name of the peace-societies, let him 
paint them. Are not the war-painters the true peace evangelists, by 
bringing Mr. Sumner's arguments most vividly before the "faithful 
eyes" of spectators'? 

Hitherto, though voting with the Whig party, he had taken no active 
part in politics. The confused state of public affairs in the year 1845 
drew him, by his sense of justice and philanthropy, into that line of 
action. In the autumn of that year, the measures for the extension of 
the slave-power, by the annexation of Texas, being in progress, meet- 
ing's were held in different towns of Massachusetts, as well as in other 
States, with a view to concentrate the public opinion opposed to the 
consummation of that measure, in remonstrances to the Congress then 
about to meet. At a popular convention, held at Faneuil Hall for that 



CHARLES SUMNER. 627 

purpose, on the 4th of November, Mr. Sumner pronounced the brilliant 
speech preserved in the second volume of his " Orations and Speeches," 
lately published. His next appearance of the kind was in September 
of the following year, when, at the request of those charged with the 
arrangements of the occasion, he addressed the Whig State Convention 
" on the anti-slavery duties of the Whig party." In the following 
month, he addressed through the newspapers a letter of rebuke to llr. 
Winthrop, then member of Congress from Boston, for the vote in flivor 
of the war with Mexico, by which that gentleman had agitated a 
portion of his immediate constituents, as well as the people of this 
commonwealth. 

The best productions of Charles Sumner are odoriferous as the 
freshly gathered bouquet ; and it is tribute enough to the oration for the 
Phi Beta Kappa Society, at Cambridge, to respond to the sentiment of 
John Quincy Adams, at the festival after it was dehvered: "The 
memory of the scholar, the jurist, the artist, and the philanthropist ; 
and not the memory, but 4he long life, of the kindred spirit who has 
this day embalmed them all." A reviewer, in criticizing the allusions 
of Sumner to the value of classical learning on the intellect, remarks 
that he shrinks from the moral effects of a class of writings which are 
deficient in the highest charm of purity. He speaks of the torrent of 
Demosthenes, dark with self-love and the spirit of vengeance, but has 
quenched the recollection of his patriotic fire. Fitful philosophy is 
about as aj^propriately ascribed to Tully, as intemperate eloquence with 
which it is coupled. Mr. Sumner speaks, with implied censure, of 
Homer's inspiring tale of blood, apparently not bearing in mind the 
parting of Hector and Andromache, or the domestic beauty of the 
patriarchal scenes of the Odyssey ; and the blame is extended even to 
Socrates, in his "marvellous teachings," and the "mellifluous words 
of Plato," and concludes with these words : " Greek poetry has been 
likened to the song of the nightingale, as she sits on the rich, symmet- 
rical crown of the palm-tree, trilling her thick-warbled notes ; but even 
this is less sweet and te.nder than the music of the human heart." 
There is no charitable foot-note here, to inform us of the source from 
which this comparison is drawn. This nightingale, of course, is not 
Milton's, which trilled its thick warbled notes "in the olive-grove of 
Academe, ' ' and whose song is not compared to Greek poetry. ' ' Nor do 
we clearly understand," says the reviewer, "what is meant by the music 
of the human heart ; but, if the chords of that love which is strono-er 



628 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

than death have po-wer to breathe such music, the ear must be dull 
indeed ^vhich cannot detect it in the Alcestis and the Antigone." Mr. 
Sumner, however, freely and candidly concedes the wholesome influ- 
ence of ancient letters, with the exception of a clear want of moral 
power : and his performance is masculine, often genial, ornate, and 
dignified. 

Mr. Sumner is remarkable for rhetorical power, blandness of man- 
ners, and melodious voice ; and we know not the native Bostonian who 
so effectively enchains the people at Faneuil Hall, as this manly orator. 
One of his warmest admirers expresses the opinion, that his orations and 
speeches will live long as liberty and humanity continue to be the prey 
of despotism and cruelty ; and his principles will live and burn in the 
bosoms of liberty's own apostles, so long as war, violence and slavery, 
shall be permitted to shower their curses upon the world. And it is 
not likely that he will become the favorite of a party whose standard is 
the muck-rake ; and a Cambridge poet thus apostrophizes : 

" Sumner, from thy well-ordered mind there grows 
The wondrous fount of learning manifold ; 
Thine eloquence o'er stores of wisdom flows, 
Like a broad river over sands of gold." 

There is a large portion of the community who have no doubt that, 
if his philanthropic heart were divested of the ultraisms of the age, his 
influence for public good would over-balance the retrograde spell that 
binds him. Such radical views are rendered ineffective, as an effort 
with his own extended arm to grasp and roll up, like a scroll, the entire 
extent of the Niagara Suspension Bridge. 

The persevering and ingenious efforts of Mr. Sumner, for prison 
discipline reform, in 1847, advocating the exclusive or solitary system 
of Pennsylvania, in preference to the social system of Auburn and 
Charlestown, which elicited impassioned debates during seven pro- 
tracted adjourned and densely crowded meetings of the Massachusetts 
Prison Discipline Society, strongly indicate the energy of his mind, 
and his power of discussion. 

We notice the intellectual strength, forming a rare union, in his 
writings, with an acute sense of the beautiful, and delicacy in the 
shadings and coloring of expression. ^Ir. Sumner rarely lets the har- 
mony of a sentence weaken its force, or the wealth of his diction obscure 
the clearness of his thought. One of the peculiarities of mere style, 



CHARLES SUMNER. 629 

which "we have often noticed as giving the effect of vigor to his compo- 
sition, is in rejecting every superfluous syllable from the latter limb of 
the sentence, so as to give a short cadence, and a sharp termination. 
He lavishes his riches upon the earlier clauses, but is economical at the 
end ; crowds the attention at first, but spares it with a grateful sur- 
prise, finally. This rarely fails to be an effective style for delivery ; 
and, aided, in Sumner's case, by his fine personal qualifications, it gives 
a certain character of manliness and directness to his oratory. It 
affixes the charm of simplicity just Avhere it was in danger of being 
missed. 

Mr. Sumner, in sketching the lineaments of another, has very graph- 
ically drawn his own portrait, when he says, " He was of that rare and 
happy constitution of mind, in which occupation is the normal state. 
He was possessed by a genius for labor. Others may moil in the law 
as successfully as he, but without his loving, successful earnestness of 
study. What he undertook he always did with his heart, soul, and 
mind ; not with reluctant, vain compliance, but with his entire nature 
bent to the task. As in his friendships and in the warmth of society, 
so was he in his studies. His heart embraced labor, as his hand 
grasped the hand of a friend." 

By his perseverance in a course opposed by a majority of the Whig 
party, Mr. Sumner's ties to it were weakened, though he had not 
yet become entirely separated from its counsels. Partly because he 
could not yet prevail upon himself to renounce a resolution long ago 
formed, to avoid public office altogether (for, to use his own expression, 
"the strife of parties had seemed ignoble to him"), partly from con- 
siderations of delicacy, incident to the course he had taken in opposition 
to Winthrop, he refused, when urgently invited, to allow himself to be 
put forward as a rival candidate to that gentleman, in the election then 
coming on. On the 4th of November, 1846, at a meeting of citizens 
favorable to the election of his friend who had consented to fill the unin- 
viting place of candidate against an overwhelming majority, he deliv- 
ered a " speech against the Mexican war, and all supplies for its pros- 
ecution." Determined, as he continued to be, against public office, he 
was now unavoidably embarked in politics. He could not be spared 
from the great exigencies of the time. There was no reti-eat, except 
in desertion of a cause to which nature and training alike had pledged 
him. The course of public affairs, down to the close of the last year, 
gave rise to the succession of speeches and writings contained in the 
53* 



630 THE HUNDRED BOSTOX ORATORS. 

second of liis volumes lately published, — volumes rich in exposition 
and brilliant enforcement of the doctrines of Christian politics, applied 
to the existing condition of affairs in this country. A great occasion 
and a great impulse seized upon him, and enforced the appeal of his 
friend John Quincy Adams, Avhen, in an interview during Mr. Adams' 
illness, that illustrious man urged upon him the obligations which 
demanded him for the public service, and said to him. at parting, ' ' Be 
not Atticus." 

Mr. Sumner was not an associate to be willingly parted with ; and, 
notwithstanding his intractablencss, he continued to be recognized by 
the Whig party, till its presidential nomination in 1848. But in the 
autumn of that year, in the presidential canvass, which issued in the 
election of Gen. Taylor, he took an efficient part, repeatedly addressing 
popular conventions, in different parts of Massachusetts and elsewhere, 
in behalf of Mr. Van Buren, the candidate of the new Free Soil party. 
On the 24th day of April, 1851, he received the election of the House 
of Representatives of the State, in concurrence with the previous vote 
of the Senate, after twenty-six ballottings. 

We would here take occasion to notice a pleasant allusion to the 
new party that has risen amongst us, contained in a speech at 
Salem, during the presidential contest of 1848: "I do not know 
how it is with you," said Rufus Choate; "but I must confess I 
have never met with any man who, having been a Whig, has devoted 
himself to this new organization, and yet who, directly and in terms, 
has expressed it as his opinion that the objects of the Whig party 
have ceased to be important and of value. They say they thought 
that ' the Whig party was dead ; ' very much as the Rev. Ebenezcr 
Cruikshank, I believe, in the Pickwick Papers, being himself in a 
genial condition, and his audience all sober, begins by saying, ' In my 
opinion, the assembly is drunk.' ' The Whig party Avas dead ; ' but I 
have never met the first man who, having been a Whig, has ever 
dared to say that, in his judgment, the great doctrines of our creed 
are not as important and as valuable as ever, could we but be united 
upon what he has come to consider a larger and a paramount object — 
the rescue of our new territory from slavery. The Whig party is 
'dead,' is it? This looks mightily like it! this sounds mightily like 
it ! [alluding to the immense assembly, and to the cheering of the 
crowd outside.] Somebody is dead, — there is no doubt of that; — but 
it is not we, — it is not the Whig party. ' Thou art not dead ! ' as 
Grattan used to apostrophize to Ireland, — 



CHARLES SUMNER. 631 

* Thou art not vanquished ! 
Youth and beauty still are crimson 
On thy lip and on thy cheek, — 
Death's pale flag is not advanced there.' 

A 

I repeat it, that I never yet heard the first man say that any one of the 
doctrines upon which our party was organized has lost, in the slight- 
est degree its importance and value in practical politics." "The 
very madness of party strife has cemented our Union," says Mr. 
Choate. '■'•Idem sentire de repuhllca, — a community of opinions 
makes the masses of the people, however widely scattered, next-door 
neighbors and friends ; and thus the volcanic fires have blazed, but 
have prevented the earthcjuake. Our railroads, our telegraphic wires 
themselves, conduct along the strong galvanic stream of consentaneous 
opinions and views. Time and space have been annihilated. Every 
man's national politics make him at home everywhere ; and thus the 
sharpest, the noisiest, and the most dangerous moments of political 
discussion, have been the safest for the country." 

At the Cape Cod Association, the following sentiment was advanced 
by Charles Sumner : " The Demon of Political Strife : If it cannot be 
exorcised from public affairs, let us, at least, prevent the evil spirit from 
taking a place at the family hearth, from entering the private circle, or 
from troubling the charities of hfe." 

When the national Fugitive Slave Law — the principle of which, 
in the minds of many eminent jurists, Avas recognized by our fathers 
in the federal constitution — was practically tested by the return of 
the slave Hamlet, from New York, to his master at the south, it pro- 
duced an excitement that, like an earthquake, shook the nation from 
the centre to its remotest parts ; and Charles Sumner delivered an 
impassioned speech at Faneuil Hall, which was received with thunders 
of applause, Nov. 6, 1850, at a Free soil meeting. 

The great objects of the Free Soil party are exhibited in this 
speech ; and we know not any more correct exponent of their princi- 
ples than Mr. Sumner. "It is a mistake to say," remarks he, " that 
we seek to interfere, through Congress, with slavery in the States, or 
in any way to direct the legislation of Congress upon subjects within 
its jurisdiction. Our jMitical aims, as well as our pohtical duties, are 
coextensive with our political responsibilities. And, since we at the 
north are responsible for slavery wherever it exists, under the juris- 
diction of Congress, it is unpardonable in us not to exert every power 



632 TUE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

we possess to enlist Congress against it. Looking at details, we 
demand, first and foremost, the instant repeal of the Fugitive Slave 
Bill. We demand the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. 
We demand the exercise by Congress, in all territories, of its time- 
honored power to prohibit slavery. We demand of Congress to refuse 
to receive into the Union any new slave State. We demand the abo- 
lition of the domestic slave-trade, so far as it can be constitutionally 
reached, but particularly on the high seas, under the national flag. 
And, generally, we demand from the federal government the exercise 
of all its constitutional power to relieve itself from responsibility for 
slavery. And yet one thing further must be done. The slave power 
must be overturned, so that the federal government may be put 
openly, actively and perpetually, on the side of freedom. 

"It happens to me to sustain an important relation to this bill. 
Early in professional life, I was designated, by the late Mr. Justice 
Story, one of the commissioners of the courts of the United States ; 
and, though I have not very often exercised the functions of this post, 
yet my name is still upon the lists. As such, I am one of those before 
whom, under the recent act of Congress, the panting fugitive may be 
brought for the decision of the question whether he is a freeman or a 
slave. But, while it becomes me to speak with caution, I shall not 
hesitate to speak with plainness. I cannot forget that I am a man, 
although I am a commissioner." " For myself, let me say that I can 
imagine no ofiice, no salary, no consideration, which I would not gladly 
forego, rather than become, in any Avay, an agent for enslaving my 
brother man. Where for me would be comfort and solace, after such 
a work 7 In dreams and in waking hours, in solitude and in the street, 
in the meditations of the closet, and in the affairs of men, — wherever 
I turned, there my victim would stare me in the face ; from the distant 
rice-fields and sugar-plantations of the south, his cries beneath the 
vindictive lash, his moans at the thought of hberty, — once his, now, 
alas ! ravished from him, — would pursue me, telling the tale of his 
fearful doom, and sounding in my ears, ' Thou art the man ! ' 

"There is a legend of Venice, consecrated by the pencil of one of 
her greatest artists, that the apostle St. Mark suddenly descended 
into the public square, and broke the manacles of the slave, even before 
the judge who had decreed his doom. Should INIassachusetts be ever 
desecrated by such a judgment, may the good apostle, with valiant 
arm, once more descend to break the manacles of the slave ! " In 



CHARLES SUMNER. 633 

regard to the approach of the slave-hunter to our borders, Mr. Suniner 
says : " Into Massachusetts he must not come. I counsel no violence. 
I would not touch his person. Not with whips and thongs would I 
scourge him from the land. The contempt, the indignation, the abhor- 
rence of the community, shall be our weapons of offence. Wherever 
he moves, he shall find no house to receive him, no table spread to 
nourish him, no welcome to cheer him. The dismal lot of the Roman 
exile shall be his. He shall be a wanderer, without roof, fire, or 
water. Men shall point at him in the streets, and on the highways, — 

' Sleep shall neither night nor day 
Hang upon his pent-house lid ; 
He shall live a man forbid ! 
Weary seven nights, nine times nine, 
Shall he dwindle, peak and pine ! ' " 

In this speech of Mr. Sumner, a parallel is drawn between the 
Stamp Act and the Fugitive Slave Act, in which he showed how " the 
unconquerable rage of the people" had compelled the stamp officers to 
resign their offices, in 1765, and contended that the slave act and the 
stamp act were alike unconstitutional. An energetic writer in the 
Transcript, over the signature of " Sigma," and recognized as "The 
Sexton of the Old School," whose spirit of philanthropy in the tem- 
perance reform has given him immortal fame on both sides of the 
Atlantic, contends there is no similarity betAveen them. " Our fath- 
ers," says Sigma, "were not represented, — we are; they had no 
power, by their suffi-ages, to change their law-makers, — we have ; they, 
and many great men, members of the British Parliament, utterly 
denied the right of taxation, — we recognize our constitutional obliga- 
tions;" — and, in a tone of sarcasm, when alluding to the remark of 
Mr. Sumner, "I counsel no violence," Sigma retorts, "He vivified 
the fury of the masses, by reminding them of the unconquerable rage 
of the people in 1765, — but he counselled no violence ! He held up 
the present and the former occasion as equally demanding an exhibition 
of their unconquerable rage, — but he counselled no violence! He 
asked them if we should be more tolerant now than were those whose 
unconquerable rage drove magistrates from their homes, sacked their 
houses, compelled their wives and daughters to fly, in terror, for their 
lives, guzzled their liquors, and stole their gold, — but he counselled 
no violence ! To let them know they were not alone in their treason- 
able purposes, he significantly assured them there were not wanting 



634 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

those who were ready to resist the laws of their country, and protect 
the fugitive by force,— but he counselled no violence ! " 

l^lr. Sumner, in his speech on the floor of the United States Senate, 
Jan. 27, 1852, in favor of a bill granting the right of way and making 
a o-rant of land to the State of Iowa, in the construction of certain rail- 
roads in that State, thus enlarges on the benefit which will result "from 
the opening of a new communication, by Avhich the territory beyond the 
Mississippi will be brought into connection with the Atlantic seaboard, 
and by which the distant posts of Council Bluffs will become a suburb 
of Washington. It would be diflficult to exaggerate the influence of 
roads as means of civilization. This, at least, may be said : where 
roads are not, civilization cannot be ; and civilization advances as roads 
are extended. By these, religion and knowledge are diff'used ; inter- 
course of all kinds is promoted; the producer, the manufticturer and 
the consumer, are j\11 brought nearer together ; commerce is quickened ; 
markets are opened ; property, wherever touched by these lines, is 
changed, as by a magic rod, into new values ; and the great current of 
travel, like that stream of classic fable, or one of the rivers of our own 
California, hurries in a channel of golden sand. The roads, together 
with the laws, of ancient Rome, are now better remembered than her 
victories. The Flaminian and Appian ways, once trod by returning 
proconsuls and tributary kings, still remain as beneficent representa- 
tives of her departed grandeur. Under God, the road and the school- 
master are the two chief agents of human improvement. The educa- 
tion begun by the schoolmaster is expanded, liberalized and completed, 
by intercourse with the world ; and this intercourse finds new opportu- 
nities and inducements in every road that is built. 

"Our country has already done much in this regard. Through a 
remarkable line of steam communications, chiefly by railroad, its whole 
population is now, or will be soon, brought close to the borders of 
Iowa. The cities of the southern seaboard — Charleston, Savannah, 
and Mobile — are already stretching their lines in this direction, soon 
to be completed conductors ; while the traveller from all the principal 
points of the northern seaboard, — from Portland, Boston, Providence, 
New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, — now passes 
without impediment to this remote region, traversing a territory of 
unexampled resources, — at once a magazine and a granary, — the 
largest coal-field, and at the same time the largest corn-field, of the 
known globe, — winding his way among churches and school-houses, 



PLINY MERRICK. 635 

among forests and gardens, by villages, towns and cities, along the sea, 
along rivers and lakes, with a speed which may recall the gallop of the 
ghostly horseman in the ballad : 

' Fled past on right and left how fast 
Each forest, grove, and bower ! 
On right and left fled past how fast 
Each city, town, and tower ! 

' Tramp ! tramp ! along the land they speed, 
Splash ! splash ! along the sea.' 

On the banks of the Mississippi he is now arrested. The proposed 
road in Iowa will bear the adventurer yet further, to the banks of the 
Missouri ; and this distant giant stream, mightiest of the earth, leaping 
from its sources in the Rocky Mountains, will be clasped with the 
Atlantic in the same iron bracelet. In all this, I see not only further 
opportunities for commerce, but a new extension to civilization, and 
increased strength to our national Union. 

" A heathen poet, while picturing the golden age without long lines 
of road, has ignorantly indicated this circumstance as creditable to that 
imaginary period, in contrast with his own. ' How well,' exclaimed 
the youthful Tibullus, 'they lived while Saturn ruled, — befoi-e the 
earth was opened by long loays : ' 

• Quam bene Saturno vivebant rege ; priusquam 
Tellus in longas est patefacta vias.' 

But the true golden age is before us, — not behind us ; and one of 
its tokens will be the completion of those long ways, by which vil- 
lages, towns, counties, states, provinces, nations, are all to be asso- 
ciated and knit together in a fellowsliip that can never be broken." 



PLINY MERRICK. 

JULY 9, 1845. EULOGY ON PRESIDENT JACKSON. 

The irresistible impression of every patriotic heart, on reading 
the eloquent eulogy of Judge Merrick, delivered in Faneuil Hall, on 
our modern Roman, must be that, if Jackson was iron-willed and 
daring, his decisive energy was devoted to the welfare of his country. 



636 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

and lie has thus more firmlj cemented our vast republican edifice. 
•• Undoubtetlly by far the most important and alarming political ques- 
tions which have ever arisen under the constitution since its adoption," 
says Judge Merrick, " were those created by the measures pursued by 
South Carolina during the administration of President Jackson, in resist- 
ance of the laws of the United States for the collection of its revenue. 
" Not claiming to exercise that great fundamental popular right 
which precedes and underlies all constitutions and forms of government, 
— that incontestible, inalienable and indefeasible, right of the people, 
to reform, alter or totally change the government, when their protec- 
tion, safety, prosperity and happiness, require it, — South Carolina 
insisted that, under the constitution, and in strict conformity to the 
terms upon which she had entered the Union, and to her obhgation to 
the rest of the United States, it was competent for her people to 
denounce a law of Congress as unconstitutional, null and void, and to 
prohibit all execution of its provisions within the limits of her terri- 
tory. And, in pursuance of this extravagant assumption, a popular 
convention, assembled in conformity to an act of her Legislature, 
assumed the tremendous responsibility of abolishing the obnoxious law, 
and of placing the State in an attitude of open, direct and undisguised, 
hostility to the general government. Never could there be, in the his- 
tory of an ardent, generous and free people, a crisis of more thrilling 
interest or portentous disaster than this ; but never could there have 
b('en found a magistrate better fitted for so terrible an emergency than 
Andrew Jackson. In the gravity of his wisdom, he paused in the reflec- 
tion that the prosperity and happiness of the existing and of unborn 
generations, under a constitution establishing the freest government on 
e-arth, bound together in the bonds of a political union cemented with 
the blood of a noble, self-sacrificing ancestry, depended upon his deci- 
sion, his prudence, liis counsel, and his strength. He examined all the 
questions involved in the great controversy with the most thorough and 
searching scrutiny, in every aspect in which they could be considered, 
— in every light in which they could be presented ; and, throwing 
himself into the arms of the people, and relying upon their stability in 
virtue, and loyalty in patriotism, he issued, in the form of a proclama- 
tion, one of the most remarkable papers ever addressed by a govern- 
ment to its citizens. Demolishing the sophistry of opposing arguments, 
and unfolding, with the utmost clearness, his views of the true prin- 
ciples of constitutional union, he appealed, with all the earnestness that 



PLINY MERRICK. 637 

danger could inspire, and all the affection that could warm the heart of 
a father, to the generous and manly people of his native State, to aban- 
don the mad project of disunion, and reunite with their fellow-citizens 
in lawful and constitutional measures for the redress of all real or 
apprehended grievances. But, finally, he announced his unalterable 
determination, upon their refusal to comply with their constitutional 
obligations, to enforce the execution of the laws they had assumed to 
annul, at the hazard of every consequence. His simple but authorita- 
tive mandate — ' the Union, it must be preserved ' — came like sun- 
shine through the cloud, — like the benignant light of the guiding star, 
through the mists of ocean, to the anxious mariner tossed on its bil- 
lows. The effect was electrical, grand, and decisive. The ranks of 
opposition swayed away from their organization, and every defender of 
the constitution rushed to the rampart, to stand by its noble and fear- 
less representative. The voices of congratulation, of defence, of com- 
promise, mingled together, and the thanksgivings for an Union pre- 
served went up once more from the hearts of an united people." 

Pliny Merrick was born at Brookfield, Aug. 2, 1794 ; was a son of 
Hon. Pliny Merrick, and married Mary R., daughter of Isaiah Thomas, 
1821. He studied law with Gov. Levi Lincoln, during which period 
he delivered the 4th of July oration, at Worcester, in 1817, when he 
displayed a fertile imagination and patriotic ardor. In that year he 
opened an office at Worcester, after admission to the bar, where he prac- 
tised until May, 1818, when he removed to Charlton, and in three 
months was located at Swanzey, Bristol county, until August, 1820. 
From this town he removed to Taunton, and became partner Avith 
Hon. Marcus Morton, during one year, to 1824, when he returned to 
Worcester, July 6th of that year, and was appointed the county 
attorney by Gov. Brooks. In 1829 he was elected president of the 
Anti-masonic Convention of Massachusetts, and published a letter on 
Speculative Masonry at that period. In 1832 Gov. Lincoln appointed 
jNIr. Merrick the attorney for the middle district, on the organization of 
the criminal courts distinct from the civil tribunals. In 1827 he was a 
representative for Worcester, and was several years a selectman of the 
town. In 1827 he delivered the agricultural address for Worcester 
Fair. He was an editor of the National ^gis, in Worcester, as suc- 
cessor to Edward D. Bangs. In 1843 Gov. Morton appointed Mr. 
Merrick a judge of the Court of Common Pleas ; and, after the decease 
of Judge Thacher, in 1844, he became one of the ex-officio judges of 
54 



638 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

the Municipal Court. He was elected to the State Senate of 1850. 
Judge Merrick is a man of very active business habits, and was presi- 
dent of the Worcester and Nashua Railroad corporation. He is pro- 
foundly learned in the law, and amply equal to civil, political, or 
business stations. He graduated at Harvard College in 1814, on 
which occasion he engaged in a conference on the relative connection, 
in a free government, of the liberty of the press, political associations, 
and the frequency of elections. Mr. Merrick was originally an advo- 
cate of the cause of Freemasonry; and published, in 1823, a Masonic 
address, delivered at Northborough, which is much at variance with his 
letter on the subject when he espoused Anti-masonry. He was a mem- 
ber of the American Antiquarian Society, and will long be remembered 
among us as the leading counsel in the defence of Professor John W. 
Webster, for the murder of Dr. George Parkman. In 1851 he again 
accepted the office of a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, under 
Gov. Briggs. 



ROBERT CHARLES WINTHROP. 

OCT. 15, 1845. MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. 

'■ If one were called on to say what, upon the whole, was the most 
distinctive and characterizing feature of the age in which we live, I 
think he might reply," says Mr. Winthrop, " that it was the rapid and 
steady progress of the influence of commerce upon the social and polit- 
ical condition of man. The policy of the civilized world is now every- 
where and eminently a commercial policy. No longer do the nations 
of the earth measure their relative consequence by the number and 
discipline of their armies upon the land, or their armadas upon the sea. 
The tables of their imports and exports, the tonnage of their commer- 
cial marines, the value and variety of their home trade, the sum total 
of their mercantile exchanges, — these furnish the standards by wliich 
national power and national importance are now marked and measured. 
Even extent of territorial dominion is valued little, save as it gives scope 
and verge for mercantile transactions ; and the great use of colonies 
is what Lord Sheffield declared it to be, half a century ago, ' the 
monopoly of their consumption, and the carriage of their produce.' 



ROBERT CHARLES WINTHROP. G39 

"Look to the domestic administration, or the foreign negotiation, of 
our own, or any other civilized country. Listen to the debates of the 
two houses of the Imperial Parliament. What are the subjects of their 
gravest and most frequent discussions 7 The succession of families 7 
The marriage of princes 1 The conquest of provinces ? The balance 
of power 1 — No ; the balance of trade, the sliding scale, corn, cotton, 
sugar, timber, — these furnish now the home-spun threads upon which 
the statesmen of modern days are obliged to string the pearls of thei^- 
parliamentary rhetoric. Nay, the prime minister himself is he' 
discoursing upon the duties to be levied upon the seed of a c( 
savory vegetable, — the use of which not even Parisian authority ha» 
rendered quite genteel upon a fair day, — as gravely as if it were as 
true in regard to the complaints against the tariff of Great Britain, as 
some of us think it is true in reference to the murmurs against our 
own American tariff, that ' all the tears which should water this sorrow 
live in an onio7i ! ' 

" Cross over to the continent. What is the great fact of the day in 
that quarter 7 Lo, a convention of delegates from ten of the inde- 
pendent States of Germany, forgetting their own political rivalries and 
social feuds, — flinging to the winds all the fears and jealousies which 
have so long sown dragon's teeth along the borders of neighboring 
states of disproportioned strength and different forms of government. 
— the lamb lying down Avith the lion, — the little city of Frankfort 
with the proud kingdom of Prussia, — and all entering into a solemn 
league to regulate commerce and secure markets ! What occupy the 
thoughts of the diplomatists, — the Guizots, and Aberdeens, and Met- 
ternichs 1 Reciprocal treaties of commerce and navigation. — treaties 
to advance an honest trade, or sometimes (I thank Heaven !) to abolish 
an infamous and accursed trafiic, — these are the engrossing topics of 
their protocols and ultimatums. Even wars, when they have occurred, 
or when they have been rumored, for a quarter of a century past, how 
almost uniformly has the real motive, whether of the menace or of the 
hostile act, proved to be, — whatever may have been the pretence, — 
not, as aforetime, to destroy, but to secure, the sources of commercial 
wealth. Algiers, Affghanistan, China, Texas, Oregon, all point more 
or less directly to one and the same pervading policy throughout the 
world, — of opening new markets, securing new ports, and extending 
commerce and navigation over new lands and new seas. 

******* 



640 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

" Well might tlie mail-clad monarchs of the earth refuse their coun- 
tenance to Columbus, and reward his matchless exploit with beggary 
and chains. He projected, he accomplished, that which, in its ultimate 
and inevitable consequences, was to wrest from their hands the imple- 
ments of their ferocious sport, — to break their bow and knap their 
spear in sunder, and all but to extinguish the source of their proudest 
and most absolute prerogative. 

' No kingly conqueror, since time began 
The long career of ages, hath to man 
A scope so ample given for Trade's bold range. 
Or caused on earth's wide stage such rapid, mighty change.' 

From the discovery of the New World, the mercantile spirit has been 
rapidly gaining upon its old antagonist; and the establishment npon 
these shores of our own republic, whose Union was the immediate 
result of commercial necessities, whose independence found its original 
impulse in commercial oppressions, and of whose constitution the reg- 
ulation of commerce was the first leading idea, may be regarded as the 
epoch at which the martial spirit finally lost a supremacy, which, it is 
believed and trusted, it can never reacquire. 

'• Yes, Mr. President, it is commerce which is fast exorcising the fell 
spirit of war from nations which it has so long been tearing and rend- 
ing. The merchant may, indeed, almost be seen, at this moment, sum- 
moning the rulers of the earth to his counting-desk, and putting them 
under bonds to keep the peace ! Upon what do we ourselves rely, to 
counteract the influence of the close approximation of yonder flaming 
planet to our sphere 7 Let me rather say (for it is not in our stars, but 
in ourselves, that we are to look for the causes which have brought the 
apprehensions of war once more home to our hearts), upon what do we 
rely, to save us from the bloody arbitrement of questions of mere ter- 
ritory and boundary, into which our own arbitrary and ambitious views 
would plunge us 7 To what do we look to prevent a protracted strife 
with Mexico, if not to arrest even the outbreak of hostilities, but to 
the unwilhngness of the great commercial powers that the trade of the 
West Indies and of the Gulf should be interrupted 7 Why is it so 
confidently pronounced that Great Britain will never go to war with 
the United States for Oregon 7 Why, but that trade has created such 
a Siamese ligament between the two countries, that every blow upon us 
would be but as a blow of the right arm upon the left 7 Why, but that, 



ROBERT CHARLES WINTHROP. 641 

in the smoke-pipe of every steamer wliicli brings her mercliandise to 
our ports, we see a calumet of jieace^ which her wai-'ehiefs dare not 
extinguish ? Commerce has, indeed, almost reahzed ideas which the 
poet, in his wildest fancies, assumed as the very standard of impossi- 
bility. We may not ' charm ache with air, or agony with words ; ' 
but may we not • fetter strong madness with a cotton thread ' ? Yes, 
that little fibre, which was not known as a product of the North Amer- 
ican soil when our old colonial union with Great Britain was dissolved, 
has already been spun, by the ocean-moved power-loom of international 
commerce, into a thread which may fetter forever the strong madness 
of war ! 

" Yet let us not, let us not, experiment upon its tension too far. 
Neither the influences of commerce, nor any other influences, have yet 
brought about the day (if, indeed, such a day is ever to be enjoyed 
before the second coming of the Prince of Peace), when we may regard 
all danger of war at an end, and when we may fearlessly sport with 
the firebrands which have heretofore kindled it, or throw down the fire- 
arms by which we have been accustomed to defend ourselves against it. 
Pi-eparation — I will not say for war, but against war — is still the 
dictate of common prudence. And, while I would always contend first 
for that preparation of an honest, equitable, inoffensive and unaggres- 
sive, policy towards all other nations, which would secure us, in every 
event, the triple armor of a just cause, I am not ready to abandon 
those other preparations for which our constitution and laws have made 
provision. Nor do I justify such preparations only on any narrow views 
of State necessity and worldly policy. I know no policy, as a states- 
man, which I may not pursue as a Christian. I can advocate no sys- 
tem before men, which I may not justify to my own conscience, or 
which I shrink from holding up, in humble trust, before my God." 

Robert Charles Winthrop was born in Boston, May 12, 1809, and 
was a son of the Hon. Thomas Lindall Winthrop, who married Eliza- 
beth, daughter of Sir John Temple, and a grand-daughter of Gov. James 
Bowdoin. He was a descendant of John Winthrop, the first governor 
elected by the General Court of Massachusetts, in 1630-1. The gov- 
ernor's town-lot, known as " The Green," included the land now owned 
by the Old South Church, on Washington-street, and his residence was 
nearly opposite School-street. It was afterwards occupied by Prince, the 
annalist; and was a two-story wooden edifice, which was destroyed for 
fuel, by the British troops, in 1775. His father was six years lieuten- 
54* 



642 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

ant-govcrnor of Massachusetts, and president of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society. 

Young Winthrop entered the Boston Latin School in 1818 ; and 
when, later in life, he received an invitation to attend a public school 
festival in Faneuil Hall, he made the following pertinent allusion : 
" There is no festival, in our political or civil calendar, which I would 
so gladly attend as the festival of the schools. Many years have 
elapsed since I enjoyed such a privilege. Indeed, my strongest asso- 
ciations with the occasion run back to the somewhat distant day when 
I was myself a medal-boy, and when I received from the city authori- 
ties a set of books, which are still the proudest ornaments of my 
library." He graduated at Harvard College ; and on that occasion he 
delivered an oration on "Public Station," which foreshadowed his 
future career ; and, at a college exhibition, he pronounced an oration 
on the influence of external circumstances on the mind. He entered 
on the study of the law under the guidance of Daniel Webster, and 
became a member of the Suffolk bar in 1831. He married Eliza C. 
Blanchard, March 12, 1832; and married a second wife, — Laura, 
daughter of John Derby, Esq., of Salem, and widow of Arnold F. 
Welles, Esq., — Nov. 6, 1849. He had two sons and one daughter, 
by his first wife. He was early engaged in military stations. He was 
captain of the Boston Light Infantry ; lieutenant of the Ancient and 
Honorable Artillery Company; an aid-de-camp to Governors Davis, 
Armstrong, and Everett. In the year 1834 he was elected a repre- 
sentative to the State Legislature, until 1841, and was Speaker of the 
House from 1838, until he was elected to Congress from Suffolk, in 
1841, as successor to Hon. Abbott Lawrence. He resigned in 1842, 
when he was succeeded by Hon. Nathan Appleton, who relinquished 
the station at the close of that session, when the seat was resumed by 
his personal friend. Mr. Winthrop. He was Speaker of the House in 
Congress during the years 1848 and '49. In the Congress of 1850, 
Mr. Winthrop was again a candidate for the speaker's chair, but was 
defeated, on a plurality vote, by two votes, after a contest of more than 
sixty ballotings. In July, 1850, when Mr. Webster became Secretary 
of State under President Fillmore, Mr. Winthrop was appointed, by 
the executive of Massachusetts, to succeed him in the United States 
Senate. We believe that Mr. Winthrop is the only native Bostonian 
who has been Speaker of the House of Congress. 

We love the name of Winthrop, — it has ever been the honor of 



ROBERT CHARLES WINTHROP. 643 

New England ; and our late senator in Congress has added to its lustre, 
in the opinion of his friends, by an unblenching resistance to reputed 
party intrigue. It appears that, on the opening of the thirtieth session 
of Congress, in December, 1847, Mr. Palfrey, of Massachusetts, had 
endeavored to procure pledges of Mr. Winthrop, in regard to the con- 
stitution of those committees which have especial direction of subjects 
connected with war and slavery. Mr. Winthrop rejected these over- 
tures, and we here present the correspondence on that matter. It is a 
valuable fragment of political history : 

"56 Colemaji's^ Washington^ Dec^ 5, 1847. 

"Dear Sir: — It would give me pleasure to aid, by my vote, 
in placing you in the chair of the House of Representatives. But I 
have no personal hopes or fears to dictate my course in the matter ; 
and the great consideration for me must be that of the policy which the 
speaker will impress on the action of the house. 

" Not to trouble you with suggestions as to subordinate points, there 
are some leading questions on which it may be presumed that you 
have a settled purpose. May I respectfully inquire whether, if elected 
speaker, it is your intention, — 

"So to constitute the Committees of Foreign Relations, and of Ways 
and Means, as to arrest the existing war 7 

"So to constitute the Committee on the Territories as to obstruct 
the legal establishment of slavery within any territory 7 

" So to constitute the Committee on the Judiciary as to favor the 
repeal of the law of Feb. 12, 1793, which denies trial by jury to per- 
sons charged with being slaves ; to give a fair and favorable consider- 
ation to the question of the repeal of those acts of Congress which now 
sustain slavery in this district ; and to further such measures as may 
be in the power of Congress, to remedy the grievances of which Mas- 
sachusetts complains at the hands of South Carolina, in respect to ill 
treatment of her citizens 7 

" I should feel much obliged to you for a reply at your early con- 
venience ; and I should be happy to be permitted to communicate it, 
or its substance, to some gentlemen who entertain similar views to 
mine, on this class of questions. 

"I am, dear sir, 

" With great personal esteem, 

" Your friend and servant, 

"John G. Palfrey." 



644 THE HUNDEED BOSTON ORATORS, 

On the reception of this note, Mr. Winthrop promptly addressed 
the following dignified reply : 

" Washington, Coleman^ s Hotel, Dec. 5, 1847. 

" Dear Sir: — Your letter of to-day has this moment been handed 
to me. I am greatly obliged by the disposition you express ' to aid 
in placing me in the chair of the House of Representatives.' But I 
must be perfectly candid in saying to you that, if I am to occupy that 
chair, I must go into it without pledges of any sort. 

" I have not sought the place. I have solicited no man's vote. At 
a meeting of the Whig members of the house, last evening (at which, 
however, I believe that you were not present), I was formally nomi- 
nated as the whig candidate for speaker, and I have accepted the nom- 
ination. 

" But I have uniformly said, to all who have inquired of me, that 
my policy in organizing the house must be sought for in my general 
conduct and character as a pubhc man. 

" I have been for seven years a member of Congress from our com- 
mon State of Massachusetts. My votes are on record. My speeches 
are in print. If they have not been such as to inspire confidence in 
my course, nothing that I could get up for the occasion, in the shape 
of pledges or declaration of purpose, ought to do so. 

" Still less could I feel it consistent with my own honor, after having 
received and accepted a general nomination, and just on the eve of the 
election, to frame answers to specific questions, like those which you 
have proposed, to be shown to a few gentlemen, as you suggest, and 
to be withheld from the great body of the Whigs. 

" Deeply, therefore, as I should regret to lose the distinction which 
the Whigs in Congress have offered to me, and, through me, to New 
England, for want of the aid of a Massachusetts vote, I must yet 
respectfully decline any more direct reply to the interrogatories which 
your letter contains. 

"I remain, with every sentiment of personal esteem, 
" Your friend and servant, 

" Robert C. Winthrop. 



It has been stated in the papers of the day, that, after receiving this 
note from liis brother colleague in Congress, Mr. Palfrey steadily, 



ROBERT CHARLES WINTHROP, 645 

upon tliree several ballotings, opposed his election to the speakership of 
the house : but Mr. Winthrop was elected, however, by a majority of 
one vote. 

Mr. Winthrop made a tour of England, France, and other parts of 
Europe. Shortly after his departure for England, Edward Everett, 
then ambassador to the court of St. James, in writing to a friend in 
Massachusetts, said of Mr. Winthrop, "A better specimen of America 
never crossed the water." He was a member of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, and of the American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences. 

"Mr. Winthrop has been, from his earliest youth, an object of the 
public regard, as a person of high qualifications for the public service," 
says George Ticknor Curtis. " In his talents, his cultivation, his cor- 
rectness of principle, his uniform adherence to a true public policy, 
and his capacity to judge rightly and speak eloquently upon public 
affairs, he has been all his life a representative of the people among 
whom he was born, — of their institutions, and of the spirit of their 
whole condition. To these characteristics there has been added, in his 
case, the associations which gather about a name interwoven forever 
with our history and our glory. Nor has he ever disappointed one of 
the expectations that have fondly centred us on him, until, in this 
middle period of his life, in an hour of that misapprehension or mis- 
representation to which all public men are exposed, he has had charges 
laid at his door which aim at his integrity of purpose and consistency 
of character." This regards his vote for the war with Mexico ; on 
which point, Mr. Winthrop, in a speech June 26, 1846, remarked, 
" I believed, when that bill providing for the war was before us, and I 
believe still, that the policy of the administration had already involved 
us in a state of things which could not be made better, which could 
not be either remedied or relieved, by withholding supplies or disguising 
its real character. And I will say further, that, while I condemn both 
the policy of annexation, as a whole, and the movement of our army 
from Corpus Christi, as a most unnecessary and unwarrantable part, I 
was not one of those who considered Mexico as entirely without fault." 

Mr. Winthrop, on the floor of Congress, was manly, decided, and 
effective. No man there ever spoke more to the purpose. This pas- 
sage, from the speech on sectional controversies, shows the man: 
" When I was first a candidate for Congress, now some ten winters 
gone, I told the abolitionists of my district, in reply to their interrog- 



646 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

atorics, that, "while I agreed -with them in most of their abstract prin- 
ciples, and was ready to carry them out, in any just, practicable and 
constitutional manner, yet, if I were elected to this house, I should 
not regard it as any peculiar part of my duty to agitate the subject 
of slavery. I have adhered to that declaration. I have been no agi- 
tator, I have sympathized with no fanatics. I have defended the 
rights and interests and piinciples of the north, to the best of my 
ability, wherever and whenever I have found them assailed ; but I 
have enlisted in no crusade upon the institutions of the south. I have 
eschewed and abhorred ultraism at both ends of the Union. 'A 
plague o' both your houses,' has been my constant ejaculation ; and it 
is altogether natural, therefore, that both their houses should cry a 
plague on me. I would not have it otherwise. I dote on their dis- 
like. I covet their opposition. I desire no other testimony, to the 
general propriety of my course, than their reproaches. I thank my 
God, that he has endowed me, if with no other gifts, with a spirit of 
moderation, which incapacitates me for giving satisfaction to ultraists 
anywhere, and on any subject. If they were to speak well of me, I 
should be compelled to exclaim, like one of old, ' What bad thing have 
I done, that such men praise me? ' " 

In alluding to the uncontrollable spirit of annexation and conquest 
that pervades our country, Mr. Winthrop remarked, in Congress, that 
we are reaping the natural and just results of the annexation of Texas, 
and of the war which inevitably followed that annexation. " We have 
almost realized the fate of the greedy and ravenous bird, in the old 
fjible. ^sop tells us of an eagle, which, in one of its towering flights, 
seeing a bit of tempting flesh upon an altar, pounced upon it, and bore 
it away in triumph to its nest. But, by chance, he adds, a coal of fire 
from the altar was sticking to it at the time, which set fire to the nest, 
and consumed it in a trice. And our American eagle, sir, has been seen 
stooping from its pride of place, and hovering over the altars of a weak 
neighboring power. It has at last pounced upon her provinces, and 
borne them away from her in triumph. But burning coals have clung 
to them. Discord and confusion have come with them. And our own 
American homestead is now threatened with conflagration." 

We cannot resist the pleasure of citing the spirited allusion to Faneuil 
Hall, in the same speech: " The American Union must be preserved. 
I speak for Faneuil Hall. Not for Faneuil Hall occupied, as it some- 
times has been, by an anti-slavery or a hberty party convention, 



ROBERT CHARLES WINTHROP. 647 

denouncing the constitution and government under which we live and 

breathing threatenings and slaughter against all who support them, 

but for Faneuil Hall thronged as it has been so often in times past, 
and as it will be so often for a thousand generations in times to come, 
by as intelligent, honest and patriotic a people, as ever the sun shone 
upon ; — I speak for Faneuil Hall, and for the great masses of true- 
hearted American freemen, without distinction of party, who delio-ht 
to dwell beneath its shadow, and to gather beneath its roof; — I speak 
for Faneuil Hall, when I say the Union of these States must not be 
dissolved ! " 

It was well said of Winthrop's speech in Congress, May, 1850, on 
the admission of California into the Union, that it is an olive-branch 
held up in the strife, and not a torch of Alccto. In reply to the objec- 
tion that California has prohibited slavery in her constitution, Mr. 
Winthrop remarked : "While some of us will go still further, and, 
without intending any offence to others, will thank God openly that 
this infant Hercules of the west has strangled the serpents in the 
cradle, — that this youthful giant of the Pacific presents himself to us 
self-dedicated to freedom, and stands a self-pledged and self-posted 
sentinel, side by side with Oregon, against the introduction of 
slavery by sea or land, into any part of that trans- Alpine territory ! " 
And, in the peroration, he said, "I have the strongest belief that the 
visions and phantoms of disunion which now appall us will soon be 
remembered only like the clouds of some April morning, or like ' the 
dissolving views ' of some evening spectacle. I have the fullest con- 
viction that this glorious repubhc is destined to outlast all, — all at 
either end of the Union,— who may be plotting against its peace, or 
predicting its downfall." 

Mr. Winthrop made a fehcitous allusion to the railroad enterprise 
of Massachusetts, at the Boston railroad jubilee festival, on the Com- 
mon, Sept. 19, 1851. " Here is a miniature map," said he, holding 
it to view, "exhibiting our little commonwealth as it really is, covered 
all over with railroad lines. They tell us here of a hundred and twenty 
passenger trains, containing no less than twelve thousand persons, 
shooting into our city on a single ordinary average summer's day, with 
a regularity, punctuality and precision, which makes it almost as safe 
to set our watches by a railroad whistle, as by the Old South clock ! " 

"Mr. Winthrop has this great advantage as a speaker," remarks 
one. " His mind is eminently methodical, and his recollective faculties 



648 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

are strong and active, and in constant play at the same time that he is 
in the full sway of extempore composition. These faculties are inval- 
uable to a public speaker. They are the flying columns, the mounted 
forces, of his mental battahons. The heavy artillery of the intellect 
may open breaches, and even break the line of the enemy ; but the 
light troops are essential to make clean work with the partially discom- 
fited foe. The methodical character of Mr. Winthrop's mind enables 
him to avoid all confusion or transposition in the treatment of his topics 
of debate. He neither runs before nor lags behind the proper currents 
of his speech. He not only says just what he desires to say, but he 
says it just where and when he intends to say it. Moreover, he says 
it in the manner designed. His thoughts are run in a mould, and his 
expressions daguerreotype them to the hearer. They are used like 
the pieces of a dissected map ; and, when his work is done, you see that 
every piece is put in its proper place, and that the map is harmoniously 
and accurately complete. It is thus that these distinguishing charac- 
teristics of Mr. Winthrop's mind, added to strong powers of intellect, 
great coolness and self-possession, unusual gifts of language, a chaste 
elocution, suflBcient force and animation, an accomplished and dignified 
manner, render him a pleasing, an effective and a reliable debater." 



FLETCHER WEBSTER. 

JULY 4, 1846. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

One is involuntarily prompted, on looking at the subject of this arti- 
cle, to revert to the noble father, toward whom so profound is the public 
veneration, that, when entering a church in New York, on the evening 
previous to the delivery of an eloquent speech on the celebration of the 
birth of Washington, in 1852, the Avhole congregation rose simultane- 
ously on their feet, and remained standing for a few minutes ; and, when 
the service was ended, Mr. Webster, after having spoken to the preacher, 
made his departure, amid the gaze, and earnest, though suppressed 
greetings of the people. Who can repress admiration of the statesman 
that declares, in a speech at the banquet of the city authorities of New 
York, on this occasion, "I have endeavored, through life, to cherish 
one idea, — that there was but one America on earth, but one free 
American government on eartli, and that there never was another ; and 



FLETCHER WEBSTER. 649 

if we should ever disregard the blessings of which we are in the enjoy- 
ment, we shall never, as long as the sun shines in the heavens, estab- 
lish another of equal goodness. There belongs to the people of this 
country a common treasure, — a fount from which every man may 
drink, — namely, the honor and glory of the nation." Honor to the 
statesman of whom Moses Stuart emphasized, that swords would leap, 
if it were lawful and necessary, from hundreds of thousands of scab- 
bards, to defend him from an unjust pohtical assault. In this connec- 
tion, we take pleasure in introducing passages from the speech of Rufus 
Choate, at Faneuil Hall, on the course of Daniel Webster in relation 
to the great compromise of the north and the south. We feel confi- 
dence in the opinion that Faneuil Hall has not resounded with a nobler 
burst of eloquence, for the last half-century, than is this tribute to 
Daniel Webster : 

" On the 7th of March, 1850, it was duty. I put to you, and 
through you to the justice and heart of America, — it was duty only, 
duty in her severest form, duty summoning him to her highest sacri- 
fice, — duty, not the love of glory, — certainly not that glory which is 
run after, — if any glory, the austere and arduous glory of civil suffer- 
ing, that cheered him on. And how has he been tried, and how has 
he been judged ? In that temper of the pubhc mind, he thought he 
saw clearly that, unless the whole constitution was executed, there was 
no longer a nation for America ; and that opinion is his crime ! He 
deemed, after the profoundest consideration, that the nation was in 
urgent and imminent peril ; and that opinion has been his crime ! In 
that conviction, he devoted himself, as the first duty of patriotism, and 
morality, and Christianity, to save, and perpetuate, and prolong, that 
Union ; and that devotion is his crime ! In that conflict of great duties, 
he chose the largest to be performed first ; and that selection is his 
crime ! In that complication of evils, he chose the least, rightly deem- 
ing that the more passing and temporary and transient ills would be 
overbalanced, a thousand- fold, by the more exceeding and eternal good ; 
and that choice is his crime ! In that time of insubordination, and 
restlessness, and revolt, against government and institution, he has 
given his great faculties to inculcate obedience to the fundamental law ; 
and that is his crime ! He has deemed, fellow-citizens, that the whole 
duty of the inhabitants of the free States, in this great extremity of 
our republic, is a little too large to delegate, to be all summed up in 
the single emotion of compassion to a single class in the State, or to 
55 



650 THE HUNDKED BOSTON ORATORS. 

carry out a single principle of abstract, and revolutionary, and violent, 
and bloody justice to that class ; and that opinion is his crime ! 

" He has held fast to the old faith of Washington, the duty of patri- 
otism, the duty of loving, with a specific and unshared love, our own 
country, — of keeping her honor from corruption, — of advancing her 
wealth, and power, and consideration, and eminence, — but by no guilty 
reign of empire ; the duty of moulding her, as far as may be consistent 
with the preservation of her organic forms, into a great visible whole, 
moved by a common wheel, vivified by a common life, identified by a 
single soul. He has held the old faith, that the duty of patriotism is 
moral virtue ; and that is his crime ! He has not thought that a 
Christian, and philosophical, and moral statesmanship, consisted entirely, 
or even found its most adequate illustration, in taking a single idea, and 
working that idea to death ; in taking a single moral and political vir- 
tue out of its connection, and exaggerating it out of its nature and 
our own ; in getting up a wooden shed out there upon the Common, in 
the night, and sending up another glittering abstraction, like another 
Lamartine, — a worse one, — into the air ; in taking the Lord's Prayer 
and Declaration of Independence, and fraudulently and scandalously 
undertaking to deduce from them the dogma of instantaneous and uni- 
versal emancipation ; of prostrating those talents made for the universe, 
and not for the cheap demagoguism of standing up and haranguing to 
a shallow and approving audience, on the claims of nature and the 
rights of man. 

" ' Look on that picture, and on this.' He has thought that states- 
manship consisted, or was best exemplified, in our time, in ascending 
to a large and grand conception ; that the noblest, most difiicult, most 
acceptable, work to the eye of God, was the building of a nation, and 
the keeping of a nation; that the noblest, most difiicult, and most 
pleasing to God, was the secular work of building this nation, and 
keeping this nation ; and that, in order to make that great achievement, 
there was demanded, in some large measure, sobriety, and a reach of 
mind, and discipline, and practical reason, that could judge what things 
the commonwealth can bear, and what it cannot bear ; the power of 
reconciling, and blending, and tempering, the antagonism of the thing, 
so that there may be drawn out from it, at last, the ultimate harmony 
and perfect peace and unity of our pohtical system itself; and this has 
been his crime ! He has believed, fellow-citizens, — and I have the 
honor to concur with him, my master, my friend, my more than guide, 



FLETCHER WEBSTER. 651 

and philosopher, and friend, — he believes that, this day, a true philan- 
thropy, enlightened from above, finds in the American world no nobler 
work for its hand to do, — ay, finds no more splendid visions for its 
dreams to contemplate, — than simply and solely to advance the best 
interests of humanity through generations countless, by that grand 
instrumentality of peace, the American Union ; to advancing the 
interests of every State, and every section, and every class, the master 
and the slave alike, by subjecting, through days of household calm, 
this great continent, all alive and astir with the emulousness of free 
republics, — by subjecting it, if it shall be the pleasure of Providence, 
forever to the sweet and gentle influences of culture and Christianity, 
and the slow and sure reformer, Time ; and he has given those great 
talents, and that influence unparalleled, to preserve forever this great 
security of peace on earth and good will to men ; and this, also, is 
his crime ! 

" Yes, fellow-citizens, it is his crime, in the judgment of some of us 
— in whose judgment shall I say ? Is it not in the judgment of a rev- 
olutionary and shallow ethics of agitation 1 Is it not in the judgment 
of a morality half-taught, that looks out of a loop-hole upon the world, 
unexercised, uninstructed from above or below; profoundly ignorant of 
the nature of that great complexity of state ; profoundly ignorant of 
it as an agent of human good ; profoundly ignorant of the dangers 
that beset it, the means of preserving it, and the maxims and arts 
imperial of its glory 1 It is a crime in the judgment of such morahty 
as that ; but, in the vocabulary and ethics of an instructed people, so 
adequately and admirably represented before me to-night, — in the 
sober second thought of such a community as this, — it is no crime, but 
virtue heroical ; ay, such virtue as on earth is entitled to the grateful 
feelings and rewarded honors of men ; and, when this mortal charge 
is over, entitled, also, may I not say, with the great poet of Christian- 
ity, to 

' A crown of gold 
Among the enthroned gods, on sainted seats.' 

"And now, fellow-citizens, I should be very glad to know, with such 
a patriotism as that, so tried and so tested, what American State, or 
section, or interest, or drop of American blood, has anything to fear 
from that. If there is an interest in this broad land, from one ocean 
to another, large enough for the constitution to know it, — if it is not so 



652 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

minute and so distant that the flag does not wave over, it, — so minute 
and so distant that the eagle's flight cannot attain to it, — is it not safe, 
and more than safe, in that comprehensive nationahty in which our 
whole American system is embraced, appreciated, and guarded ? 

" Fellow-citizens, before I take my leave, I ask to say one word, 
and one only, on another topic altogether. It has seemed to me, — and 
I am the more inclined to ask your indulgence, for a moment, while I 
direct your attention to a passage in the admirable letter of our friend, 
Mr. Everett, whose absence we so much deplore, and whose heart we 
are sure is with us always, even unto the end of this great struggle, — 
it has seemed to me, that there is something in the quality and adjust- 
ment of Mr. Webster's prudential and intellectual character and tem- 
perament, which fit him, in a remarkable degree, for conducting the 
foreign relations of this country with Europe, in the actual aspects of 
the European world. What that aspect and state exactly is, — how 
wholly unsettled, — what shadows, clouds and darkness, appear to rest 
upon it, — you entirely appreciate. It has seemed to me as if the pre- 
rogatives of crowns, and the rights of men, and the hoarded up resent- 
ments and revenges of a thousand years, were about to unsheath the 
sword for a conflict, in which the blood shall flow, as in the Apocalyptic 
vision, to the bridles of the horses ; and in which a whole age of men 
shall pass away, — in Avhich the great bell of time shall sound out 
another hour, — in which society itself shall be tried by fire and steel, 
— Avhether it is of nature, and of nature's God, or not ! " 

Fletcher Webster a son of Hon. Daniel Webster, was born at 
Portsmouth, N. H., July 23, 1813. He entered the Boston Latin 
School in 1824, and graduated at Harvard College in 1833, on which 
occasion he engaged in a conference on Common Sense, Genius and 
Learning, — their characteristics, value and success. He studied law 
with his father, and became a counsellor. He married Caroline Story, 
a daughter of Stephen White, Esq., of Salem. In 1843 Mr. Webster 
was the secretary of legation, in the embassy of Hon. Caleb Gush- 
ing to China ; and, on his return, delivered lectures on the condition 
of that empire. In 1847 he was a Boston representative to the State 
Legislature. In 1850 he was appointed surveyor for the port of 
Boston. 

"The American character," says Mr. Webster, "is not an imita- 
tion, but a creation ; no copy, but an original. It is formed by circum- 
stances and position such as have never before existed. It grows up 



THOMAS GREAVES CART. 653 

under institutions which our fathers framed and established of them- 
selves, — new, extraordinary, wonderful, and like no others. We are 
here occupying the greater part of a vast continent, stretching from 
sea to sea, containing within ourselves most things that human wants, 
or arts, or taste, can desire ; sufficient to ourselves in all physical 
things, and very independent of all other people. We are making a 
great experiment of self-government, by twenty millions of people, 
scattered over so vast a region that they count their distances by thou- 
sands of miles. We are growing — expanding — forming. No one 
can tell what we may become. We are no more to be compared to 
European models, than one of our great mountain-pines is to be cut 
and trimmed like the boxwood of a flower-garden." Mr. Webster thus 
enlarges on some of the uses of war : " Where had been the sublimest 
poetry, but for war ? Where had been the Royal Psalmist, had not 
the Philistines come up against Israel? Where Homer and Virgil, 
had Troy never fallen before successful arms? Milton himself had 
been silent, had he not sung of war in heaven, 

• When all the plain, 
Covered with thicli-embattled squadrons, bright 
Chariots, and flaming arms, and fiery steed. 
Reflecting blaze on blaze, first met his view.' 

" It is true that war has tendencies to demoralization. It often pro- 
duces violence, and recklessness, and disregard of justice. But, while 
the vices produced by war are not to be denied, is it quite clear, men's 
passions remaining as they are, that the vices of long-continued, undis- 
turbed and luxurious peace, are not equally great 7 Were the court and 
the times of Alexander, or Peter the Great, or Napoleon, more vicious 
than those of Sardanapalus, or Katherine, or Charles the Tenth, or of 
other princes who reigned chiefly in peace? " 



THOMAS GREAVES GARY. 

JULY 4, 1847. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

This performance was delivered at the period when the American 

The rhetoric of Burke, 

55* 



654 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

■when he spoke of jealous attachment to freedom," says Mr. Gary, 
where there are slaves, was fortified by reference to history. So it 
was, he said, in the ancient commonwealths. It would be wise in 
us to consider what was the fate of those commonwealths. They all 
passed into the shade of despotism, and disappeared in barbarous dark- 
ness. Such may yet be our own fate. We have despotism to guard 
against. If we are in danger, when the soldier holds himself too high, 
to be made the blind instrument of rapacity and injustice, still more 
should we be in danger from the janizary, — the armed automaton, — 
insensible to every motive but the impulse of power that directs it, — 
of power that may hereafter move it to turn the instrument of destruc- 
tion which it holds upon ourselves. If there be danger in withholding 
thanks to an army for doing bravely, admirably, what never should 
have been done at all, there is yet greater danger in joining in shouts 
of triumph for it, merely because we are prompted by fear of misrepre- 
sentation from those who wear about their necks the badge of their own 
perfidy to the cause of manly independence, and who would deride us, 
within the year, for pusillanimity in heeding this call, if a change of 
measures among their leaders should render it expedient to take oppo- 
site ground. 

"Human nature rejects the thought that freemen shall hesitate to 
inquire whether their cause be just ; and probably most of the people 
of this country will be found to disregard it, if the prowess of our sol- 
diers, while it excites our surprise and admiration, is to be so directed 
as to make our Union a scourge rather than a blessing to mankind. 

" The disciphne of our regular troops, as has always been the case 
in our navy, reminds us of what was said of Roman soldiers : ' Their 
exercises in peace were battles without bloodshed. Their battles in 
war were only bloody sports.' But, with all this power to sustain 
right, if our rulers are to make us the oppressor of the weak, must we 
join in thankful gratulation for it '? If so, then adieu to liberty ! 
There is no slavery more oppressive than that which binds the thought 
and the tongue of him who supposes himself to be free. 

"Let any one read again the descriptions by eye-witnesses of the 
disorders and cruelties that took place at Monterey and elsewhere, 
even after the battles were fought, — the robbery, murder, and brutal 
violence to women, in open day, in spite of eSbrts by officers of the 
regular troops to prevent it, — under the vicious system of volunteers 
electing their own officers, who have, therefore, popularity as well as 



THOMAS GREAVES GARY. 655 

discipline to think of. Let him reflect on the distracted state of that 
wretched country, or think of the brave Mexicans fighting for their 
native soil at Buena Vista, half famished, but, as was said by our own 
officers, 'fighting with the energy of despair; ' let us suppose some race, 
of more energy and greater skill in war than ourselves, to have invaded 
us, and such scenes to have been enacted at Albany or Worcester ; or 
let us suppose the city of Charleston or Savannah to have been 
attacked, and the women and children to have been subjected to the 
laws of war, as at Vera Cruz, — and we may then form an idea of the 
consequences of this war, and of the imperious necessity that must be 
shown to justify its commencement, or any measure resembling ap- 
probation of it, even by thanks to an officer whom we admire for his 
manner of conducting it, that should countenance its continuance for 
a week. That our armies have lately added vastly to our reputation 
as a warlike people, prepared for contest with any nation that exists, is 
unquestionable. But we were in no pressing want of such reputation ; 
and, if we had been, we have no right to seek it at such cost to human- 
ity. As Franklin has suggested, if a spirit not yet informed of the 
extent of the universe, on seeing this earth as it shines mildly from 
afar, should approach it in the hope of obtaining some new view of 
heaven, and light upon a scene of warfare, he might suppose that he 
had arrived in hell." 

Thomas Greaves Cary was born at Chelsea, Sept. 7, 1791 ; gradu- 
ated at Harvard College in 1811 ; engaged in the study of law with 
Hon. Judge Thacher; commenced practice in 1814; and in 1821 
entered on mercantile pursuits, in New York, and subsequently was a 
partner in ^he house of Thomas H. Perkins & Co., of Boston, the 
senior of whom projected the Quincy Railroad, completed in 1827, 
which was the first enterprise of the kind in the United States. It 
was constructed for the purpose of transporting granite from the quarry 
in that town to Neponset River. The stone for the Bunker Hill Mon- 
ument, conveyed from this quarry, was furnished by the Granite 
Railway Company, of which Mr. Perkins was the president. We 
find, on the Boston records, this curious fact in the history of temper- 
ance, relating to the father of Mr. Perkins, — that James Perkins, 
retailer, was licensed by the selectmen, August 13, 1767, to sell wine 
only, at his house in King-street. Mr. Cary married Mary, a daughter 
of Hon. Thomas H. Perkins ; was a director of the Hamilton Bank ; 
commander of the Independent Cadets, in 1847 ; and senator for Suf- 
folk county, 1852. 



656 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Col. Car J is a gentleman of fine literary habits, and of truly estima- 
ble character. He is president of the Boston Athenaeum, the hbrary 
of -svhich was founded on that of the Anthology Literary Club, in 
1807. It will advance the moral glory of Boston, should our men of 
wealth continue to establish separate endowments for the literary, sci- 
entific, historical, medical, legal, and theological benefit of the public. 
May a Bromfield come forward for all the departments ! AVe hope the 
period is not remote, when the facilities of access to this library will 
rise to the standard of the great hbraries of Europe. 

Mr. Cary is the author of several productions, beside the eloquent 
oration at the head of this article ; among which we find, A Letter to a 
Lady in France, on National and State Repudiation, 1844 ; a Letter 
on Profits on Manufactures at Lowell, 1845 ; and an Address on the 
Fine Arts, delivered before the Mercantile Library Association, in 1845, 
in which he enlarges on the practicability of cultivating a taste for the 
fine arts in our tumultuous democracy, and relates of a person whose 
business, one would suppose, lay among the most unpoetical and least 
{esthetic pursuits that may be imagined. If any form of life is unfa- 
vorable to the cultivation of a taste for the fine arts, most people would 
unhesitatingly say it is the life of a grocer. And yet this individual, 
— Mr. Luman Reed, — although dying in the prime of life, left a col- 
lection of paintings, engravings, shells, and other objects of beauty and 
interest, altogether so valuable, that it was proposed to make them the 
commencement of a public gallery in New York ; and he left an estab- 
lishment in business conducted on principles so secure, that it has been 
a school of industrious success to younger men, who owe their pros- 
perity mainly to him. The transparent beauty of Col. Gary's per- 
formance, and the force of his sentiments, so nicely harmonize, that his 
pen should flow freely to the public mind. 



JOEL GILES. 

JULY 4, 1848. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

" Constitutions are the pohtical brain of the people," says our 
orator. " Each of our thirty States has one, and our glorious Union 
has another, by which unceasing action is maintained upon all rightful 
subjects of government. 



JOEL GILES. 657 

" Men are governed by three principles, — reason, love and force; 
and without these there is no government worthy of the name, human 
or divine. The constitution of the United States is the organ of the 
sovereign reason of the people. This is the field for giant minds and 
patriot hearts ; and its hero — for it has a hero, unrivalled and alone 
in his chosen domain — is the people's Webster. And do you ask for 
the heroes of the heart, with power to acquire wealth, learning and 
influence, and a will to use them all for the people's honor and the 
people's good? Go to your scientific schools, your institutes, and 
your libraries, and read the honored names of their founders. Go 
to the missionary rolls, and admire the number and the devotion of 
your Christian martyrs. Force, too, that dire necessity of fallen man, 
and of nations, has its heroes, — a small and charmed band, whose 
martial fame, like the forked lightning, dazzles the eyes of the people. 
May they ever be few in number, great in action, and Avorthy to tread 
in the footprints of Washington ! 

"Preserve, then, your constitutions, your corporations, your societies, 
your towns, your cities, your free schools, and your churches. They are 
organisms for the exercise, discipline and efiicient action, of practical lib- 
erty. And, especially, preserve your militia. It is the legal organiza- 
tion of force, the right hand of all government, the ultimate protector of 
all the fruits of liberty, and a terror only to evil doers. The people are, 
by the constitution of the United States, armed ; and, by every prin- 
ciple of liberty, they are supreme. Force always resides in the masses. 
Armed, but unorganized, it is a sleeping lion, ready to spring upon 
you at any moment of famine or of passion. Then, train it, — train it, 
— and it shall lie down with the lambs in the green pastures of peace 
and tranquillity. Even parties are useful organizations of practical 
liberty, which might otherwise fall into anarchy in the exercise of its 
elective functions. And, in a country so free as this, no administra- 
tion can stand without the support of a dominant party, embracing, for 
the time being, a majority of the people. Be not frightened, then, at 
parties ; but prove them all, by the test of practical liberty, and hold 
fast that which is good. We cannot, if we would, avoid the responsi- 
bility of affecting the welfare of miUions of our fellow-men. The com- 
mands of Heaven are upon us ! " 

Joel Giles was born at Townsend, May 6, 1804 ; was fitted for col- 
lege by Rev. David Palmer ; graduated at Harvard College in 1829, 
when he engaged in a disputation with Chandler Robbins, on the ques- 



658 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

tion, Avhethcr inequalities of gcniu3 in different countries be owing to 
moral causes. He Avas a student of Dane Law School ; a tutor in 
Harvard College, from 1831 to 1834 ; and a student, also, of Benja- 
min Rand, in Boston. He is a counsellor of Suffolk bar ; and was a 
representative from Cambridge and Boston, in 1840 and in 1847. He 
was a member of the State Senate in 1848. Mr. Giles is a man of 
penetrative mind, and knows how to fathom a disputed question of pol- 
itics with as much ease as a profound point of law. 

Mayor Quincy said of Mr. Giles' oration, at the public dinner in 
Faneuil Hall, " He has struck the harp of the universe with the hand 
of a master." 

Next to the clergy, the legal profession — which numbers four hun- 
dred in Boston — exercises a stronger public moral control than any 
other of the professions ; and their personal friendship towards each 
other is proverbial, as it was in the time of Shakspeare, who says of 
lawyers, that they 

" Do as adversaries in law strive mightily, 
But eat and drink as friends." 

The patriotic civilians of Suffolk bar, in their political influence, often 
control the State. It is said that Mr. Giles prepared the spirited 
resolves of the Whig State Convention, adopted at Worcester, Oct. 3, 
1849, and they exhibit the principles of Washington : " The Union, 
— the glorious Union,— the object of our fervent love ! Its preser- 
vation transcends in importance any and all other political questions ; 
and, as we have received it from the flithers, so will we perpetuate it 
to the children, entire as the sun." Inscribe this sentiment on our 
banners, and cherish it in our hearts, and the Union is never dis- 
severed. 



WILLIAM WHITWELL GREENOUGH. 

JULY 4, 1849. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

" The supporters of arbitrary power in Europe have recently urged 
a new plea," says Mr. Greenough. " It is said that the wars of 1848 
and 1849 are merely wars of language and of race. This position 
excludes all higher questions of principle, and is intended to prevent 



WILLIAM WHITWELL GREENOUGH. 659 

sympathy and interference on the part of free countries. This is the 
plea of Russia. This would conceal the fact, that the settlement of 
each national question now at issue is an affair of much consequence to 
the whole civilized world. The causes of the great conflict now in 
progress lie far beneath language or race. It is not a struggle to 
decide which of two parties in each state shall be uppermost. Such 
may have been its appearance at the beginning ; but the real motive 
poAvers are now visible. The free people of England and of France 
may well watch, with interest and anxiety, for the results of each bat- 
tle-field. The struggle is between the people and arbitrary power. A 
few years will decide whether the western barriers of despotism shall 
be the Rhine or the North Sea ; or whether the arm of freedom shall 
drive back the myrmidons of tyranny to the frozen regions of the 
north. 

" In all this war of principles, we, too, on this side of the Atlantic, 
have a direct interest. If the experiment of free institutions had been 
unsuccessful here, it would have deferred, for a long period, the striv- 
ings after liberty which have already found practical results in other 
quarters of the world. The example and the influence of the United 
States have quietly produced great effects, of which the causes were 
not clearly perceptible. For the failure of other revolutions, declaredly 
based upon our own model, we are in no degree responsible. The 
painter of a glorious picture, whose merits are admitted by the world, 
is never held accountable for the bad drawings or wretched colorings of 
any imitator, however ambitious. No one claims that our institutions 
are perfect. It is sufiicient, for all useful purposes, that, under their 
protecting powers, every blessing can be enjoyed that is needful for the 
happiness of man in this lower world. As every successful essay is a 
direct incitement to human nature to go and do likewise, the position 
of this country is especially traceable in the revolutions of Europe. 
Every new constitution borrows, to a greater or less extent, from our 
own, according to the tastes of legislators. The great ideas which, in 
a good sense, constitute this the conquering republic, transfuse them- 
selves into every popular movement. That no government may exist 
without the consent of the governed, has proved a fearful principle, 
when brought into colhsion with another principle, consecrated by the 
tacit consent of a thousand years, the divine right of kings, the doc- 
trine of absolute sovereignty. Who can doubt which of the two will 
ultimately come forth superior from the conflict 7 The strife is no 



660 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

longer equal. It is a struggle between a human fallacy and a super- 
human truth." This production is very suitably entitled The Con- 
quering Republic. 

William Whitwell Greenough, son of "William Greenough, a merchant 
of Boston, was born in Boston, June 25, 1818; entered the Latin 
School in 1828, and graduated at Harvard College in 1837. He mar- 
ried Catharine Scollay, a daughter of Charles P. Curtis, and engaged 
in mercantile pursuits. He was a member of the city Council from 
1847 to 1850, during which period he was a member of the water com- 
mittee, and its chairman in the last year. He was treasurer of the 
American Oriental Society, and a member of the New England His- 
torical and Genealogical Society. Mr. Greenough has ever cherished 
a love of literary and scientific pursuits. In the intervals of leisure, 
he has prepared valuable contributions to various periodicals, among 
which was one on the Anglo-Saxons, in the New York Review ; another 
on the Moeso. Gothic, in the Biblical Repository ; and, more especially, 
several articles in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, an 
institution to Avhich he is peculiarly devoted. Mr. Greenough has 
resources of mind abundantly competent to the preparation of a liter- 
ary production, of great benefit to the public, on the Races of Man, and 
we hope he will be closely devoted to the work until it is completed. 



LEVI WOODBURY. 

JULY 25, 1849. EULOGY ON PRESIDENT POLK. 

"Indiscriminate eulogy is without value or point," says Judge 
Woodbury ; " and hence, at the risk of being thought by some not suf- 
ficiently enthusiastic, it has been and will be my endeavor ' naught to 
extenuate,' and to hold the mirror up faithfully to the truth and nature 
of the leading features in his admirable character and remarkable 
administration, I do not consider it a part of his fame that he 
planned many of these great events. He did not enter on his high 
station with a magazine in his mind, full of magnificent and imposing 
measures to be attempted. 

" Though a young man, comparatively, and from the enterprising 
west, his character was rather wary than rash ; rather to follow than to 



LEVI WOODBURY. 661 

devise ; rather to meet, resolutely, difficulties and dangers -when thrust 
on him, than to project them, or to indulge in novel designs, or to 
court deeds of danger and blood. Not like the hero -who sleeps near 
him at the Hermitage, born to carry conquests among hostile savages, 
or meet on our shores an invading foe, and drive back profaners of our 
soil ; but, rather, a civilian, formed to husband carefully and defend 
well what others have bravely won. Thus, while president, he found 
himself in a most eventful age ; but it seemed made so by others, more 
than himself. He added, to be sure, something to the great deeds 
and stirring incidents of the era ; but this was rather forced on him 
than sought. His ambition was more for the calm than the tempest ; 
and his reputation will rest chiefly on the successful manner in which 
he managed the vessel of state in the various perils which he was 
compelled to face. 

" Thus, for a moment, as to Oregon. The course of events had pro- 
duced a crisis almost unavoidable. Her limits and exclusive occupation 
were, therefore, under his administration, settled. Though long before 
agitated, — even a quarter of a century, — yet a regular government 
by the United States was, under him, first flung beyond the Rocky 
Mountains, and their laws and institutions first carried formally and 
fully to the waves of the Pacific. Grant that all was not obtained by 
his arrangement which the sanguine hoped ; grant, as was the convic- 
tion of many, that our rights to 54° 40' were clear ; grant that it was, 
on several accounts, desirable to stretch our limits to their utmost 
verge, — yet, can it be said that the peace of the country with a great 
kindred power, and the exclusive possession and settlement and growth 
of twelve or thirteen degrees of latitude, and under the reign of estab- 
lished laws rather than the rifle or the tomahawk, was not a high 
national object, desirable to be accomplished speedily, though at the 
expense of some territory? All must admit that, on a subject most 
sensitive, further painful collisions were thus obviated, doubts and dif- 
ficulties of many years' standing closed, and the prospect of future war 
between races almost fraternal thrown off", and, it is hoped, for ages. 
Next, behold the annexation of Texas, finished under his auspices ! 
Though, it is conceded, far from having originated with him, yet this 
measure was, during his administration, carried into complete effect — 
consolidated. She was not then merely preparing to come into the 
Union, — anxious and negotiating, — but was actually brought in, and 
her representatives mingled with ours on the field of glory, and her 
lone star united in our political galaxy forever. 
56 



662 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

'•'The importance of this measure, thus perfected under Mr. Polk's 
administration, can only be appreciated by the vindication it has afforded 
to the right of self-government, and the large addition it has made 
to our territory, no less than to our securities in future difficulties, and 
the hostile weapons, both in peace and war, it has wrenched from our 
opponents, and the vast markets for our manufactures it has opened, 
and the new employments presented for our navigation. Superadded 
to all this has been the acquisition of California and New Mexico, 
larger in territory than half our old thirteen States combined. This 
has been more exclusively a measure of his administration. There 
have been added by it to our public domain, and fo the Union, lands 
broad enough to support a nation, rich enough in gold for half a world, 
harbors capacious enough for whole navies, and almost indispensable for 
safety and supplies to the greatest whaling marine of the globe. The 
chief regret, mingled with this, may be the inability, as yet, to agree 
on any but a mihtary government over this great acquisition ; and which 
makes a strong demand on our liberality and exertions, as it already 
has done on our sympathies, to establish the law of the Union over 
what has been purchased by means of the money and blood of this con- 
secrated league of fraternal States. Such remote regions are likely 
soon to become alienated, if not duly protected and bound to us by 
benefits and improvements such as are necessary to their growth in 
commerce and close attachment to the Union, even though requiring 
an isthmus railroad, or one spanning half the continent in higher lati- 
tudes, and which are so much stronger ties than any of mere paper or 
parchment." 

Levi Woodbury, son of Hon. Peter Woodbury, was born at Frances- 
town, N. IL, Nov. 2, 1789; was educated in New Ipswich Academy ; 
graduated at Dartmouth College, in 1809 ; studied law with Hon. 
Samuel Dana, of Boston, and at the Law School, in Litchfield, Conn,, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1812. "It is gratifying to see men 
occasionally call to mind the purity and simplicity of the scenes of 
early life," said Judge Woodbury, at the festival of the sons of New 
Hampshire; "and it is creditable to them to turn aside, for at least a 
few hours, from the anxieties and bustle of business, the mere mammon 
of the world, and think over and talk over the farm-house and fields 
of childhood, their beloved Argos, the village school and village church, 
the plough and scythe, of growing youth or manhood, and the mother 
sister and brother, who cheered you at dewy eve, on your return from 



LEVI WOODBURY. 663 

daily toil. This is purifying. Well, too, may some of you remember 
the gun and fishing-rod, which, while furnishing healthy amusement, 
prepared some of you, by the mimic war of the chase, to help to con- 
quer so nobly at Palo Alto, and under the walls of Mexico." Mr. 
Woodbury was elected secretary of the New Hampshire Senate, in 
1816. He was appointed judge of the Superior Court in New Hamp- 
shire when only twenty-seven years of age ; and acquitted himself 
with great dignity, wisdom, and fearless intrepidity. He married 
Elizabeth, daughter of Hon. Asa Clapp, of Portland, Me., June, 1819, 
when he settled at Portsmouth. In 1823 Mr. Woodbury was elected 
Governor of New Hampshire, and, at the expiration of the term, resumed 
the profession of law. In 1825 he was elected a representative to the 
State Legislature, and was chosen Speaker of the House. During this 
session a vacancy had occurred in the Senate of the United States, when 
Mr. Woodbury was elected by the Legislature to that station ; where, 
by his official reports and his speeches, he displayed great talent. He 
was chairman of the committee of commerce, during four sessions ; and, 
on the expiration of his term, he declined being a candidate to Con- 
gress. In the next month he was elected to the Senate of his native 
State ; and, on the reorganization of the cabinet, in the succeeding 
month, he was invited by President Jackson to the office of Secretary 
of the Navy, when he resigned his seat in the Senate. After the rejec- 
tion of Mr. Taney to the department of Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. 
Woodbury was transferred to that sphere, and he was confirmed in 
1834. He was intensely devoted to the political measures of Andrew 
Jackson, as he was moreover to the policy of his successor, Martin Van 
Buren, under whose auspices he served to the close of his administra- 
tion, when he was again elected by his native State to the Senate of the 
United States, for the period of six years, from March 4, 1841. 
He resigned in 1845, on being appointed by President Polk as suc- 
cessor to the late Justice Story, as an Associate Justice of the United 
States Supreme Court. He died Sept. 3, 1851. The opinion may be 
safely expressed, that no member of the cabinets of Jackson and Yan 
Buren had a stronger influence in seconding the bold measures of these 
originators of great experiments than the shrewd Levi Woodbury. 
Judge Woodbury was a profound civilian, and presided over the 
judiciary with general wisdom and great dignity. He delivered a 
discourse at the capitol in Washington, before the American Historical 
Society, in 1837, of which he was a member. In remarking on the 



664 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

necessity of a fair and correct history of our own government, he 
observed that it should be a prominent duty of this society to strip 
from the statue of truth all meretricious and false disguises. Let it 
not be said of us, when inquirers for facts, as Aristophanes describes 
the Athenians : 

*' No matter what the ofiFence, 

Be 't great or small, 

The cry is tyranny — conspiracy." 

But -when we enter the sacred temple of history, let us put off the par- 
tisan of the day, whether in religion or politics, as well as discard our 
favorite theories of philosophy and political economy, and seek faith- 
fully to do justice to the most calumniated. We should hold the mirror 
up to facts and nature alone, and invoke every just and honorable feel- 
ing, to aid us in judgment on the long array of the past. 

Judge Woodbury possessed great intrepidity of character. When 
the counsel in the case of Sims, the fugitive slave, had inveighed 
against his decision, that a writ of habeas corpus should not be allowed, 
as being contrary to the laws of Massachusetts, Judge Woodbury 
promptly replied, "Massachusetts is yet a part of the Union, thank 
God ! He wished the gentleman to understand that the laws of the 
United States were the laws of the people of Massachusetts ; and that, 
notwithstanding the action or passions of fanatics, he hoped it would be 
long before — whatever Massachusetts was — she ceased to be a State 
in the Union. It was his duty to see the laws faithfully executed ; 
and he would see them executed, or perish in the attempt." 



EDWIN PERCY WHIPPLE. 

JULY 4, 1850. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

"It was not the prevalence of abstract opinions," remarks Mr. 
Whipple, "but the inspiration of positive institutions, which gave our 
forefathers the heart to brave, and the ability successfully to defy, the 
colossal power of England ; but it must be admitted that in its obnox- 
ious colonial policy England had parted with her wisdom, and in part- 
ing with her wisdom, had weakened her power ; falling, as Burke says, 
under the operation of that immutable law ' which decrees vexation 



EDWIN PERCY WHIPPLE. 665 

to violence, and poverty to rapine.' The England arrayed against us 
was not the England which, a few years before, its energies wielded 
by the lofty and impassioned genius of the elder Pitt, had smitten the 
power and humbled the pride of two great European monarchies, and 
spread its fleets and armies, animated by one vehement soul, over three 
quarters of the globe. The administrations of the English govern- 
ment, from 1760 to the close of our Revolutionary War, were more or 
less directed by the intriguing incapacity of the king. George the 
Third is said to have possessed many private virtues,' — and very pri- 
vate for a long time he kept them from his subjects, — but, as a mon- 
arch, he was without magnanimity in his sentiments, or enlargement 
in his ideas ; prejudiced, uncultivated, bigoted, and perverse ; and his 
boasted morality and piety, when exercised in the sphere of govern- 
ment, partook of the narrowness of his mind and the obstinacy of his 
will; his conscience being used to transmute his hatreds into duties, 
and his religious sentiment to sanctify his vindictive passions ; and as 
it was his ambition to rule an empire by the petty politics of a court, 
he preferred to have his folly flattered by parasites than his ignorance 
enlightened by statesmen. Such a disposition in the king of a free 
country was incompatible with efiiciency in the conduct of affliirs, as it 
split parties into factions, and made established principles yield to mean 
personal expedients. Bute, the king's first minister, after a short 
administration, unexampled for corruption and feebleness, gave way 
before a storm of popular contempt and hatred. To him succeeded 
George Grenville, the originator of the Stamp Act, and the blundering 
promoter of American independence. Grenville was a hard, sullen, 
dogmatic, penurious man of affairs, with a complete mastery of the 
details of parliamentary . business, and threading with ease all the 
labyrinths of English law ; but limited in his conceptions, fixed in his 
opinions, without any of that sagacity which reads results in their 
principles, and chiefly distinguished for a kind of sour honesty, not 
infrequently found in men of harsh tempers and technical intellects. 
It was soon discovered that, though imperious enough to be a tyrant, 
he was not servile enough to be a tool ; that the same domineering 
temper which enabled him to push arbitrary measures in Parliament 
made him put insolent questions in the palace ; and the king, in despair 
of a servant who could not tax America and persecute Wilkes with- 
out at the same time insulting his master, dismissed him for the Mar- 
quis of Rockingham, the leader of the great whig connection, and a 
56* 



GG6 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

Sturdy friend of the Americans, both before the Revolution and during 
its progress. Under him the Stamp Act was repealed ; but his admin- 
istration soon proved too liberal to satisfy the fawning politicians who 
governed the understanding of the king, and the experiment was tried 
of a composite ministry, put together by Chatham, consisting of mem- 
bers selected from different factions, but without any principle of cohe- 
sion to unite them ; and the anarchy, inherent in the arrangement, 
became portentously apparent when Chatham, driven by the gout into 
a state of nervous imbecility, left it to Avork out its mission of misrule, 
and its eccentric control was seized by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
— the gay, false, dissipated, veering, presumptuous and unscrupulous 
Charles Townsend. This man was so brilhant and fascinating as an 
orator, that Walpole said of one of his speeches that it was like hear- 
ing Garrick act extempore scenes from Congreve ; but he was without 
any guiding moral or political principles; and, boundlessly admired 
by the House of Commons and boundlessly craving its admiration, he 
seemed to act ever from the impulses of vanity, and speak ever from 
the inspiration of champagne. Grenville, smarting under his recent 
defeat, but still doggedly bent on having a revenue raised in America, 
missed no opportunity of goading this versatile political roue with his 
sullen and bitter sarcasms. ' You are cowards,' said he, on one occa- 
sion, turning to the treasury bench ; ' you are afraid of the Ameri- 
cans,— you dare not tax America.' Townsend, stung by this taunt, 
started passionately up from his seat, exclaiming, ' Fear ! cowards ! 
dare not tax America ! I do dare tax America ! ' and this boyish 
bravado ushered in the celebrated bill, which was to cost England 
thirteen colonies, add a hundred millions of pounds to her debt, and 
affix an ineffaceable stain on her public character. Townsend, by the 
grace of a putrid fever, was saved from witnessing the consequences 
of his vain-glorious presumption; and the direction of his policy 
eventually fell into the hands of Lord North, a good-natured, second- 
rate, jobbing statesman, equally destitute of lofty virtues and splendid 
vices, under whose administration the American war was commenced 
and consummated. Of all the ministers of George the Third, North 
was the most esteemed by his sovereign ; for he had the tact to follow 
plans which originated in the king's unreasoning brain and wilful dis- 
position, and yet to veil their weak injustice in a drapery of arguments 
furnished from his own more enlarged mind and easier temper. Chat- 
ham and Camden thundered against him in the Lords ; Burke and 



\ EDWIN PERCY WHIPPLE. 667 

Fox, Cassandras of ominous and eloquent prophecy, raved and shouted 
statesmanship to him in the Commons, and screamed out the maxims 
of wisdom in ecstasies of invective ; but he, good-naturedly tolerant to 
political adversaries, blandly indifferent to popular execration, and 
sleeping quietly through whole hours of philippics hot with threats of 
impeachment, pursued his course of court-ordained folly with the 
serene composure of an Ulysses or Somers. The war, as conducted 
by his ministry, was badly managed ; but he had one wise thought, 
which happily failed to become a fact. The command in America, on 
the breaking out of serious disturbances, was offered to Lord Clive ; 
but, fortunately for us, Clive, at about that time, concluded to commit 
suicide, and our rustic soldiery were thus saved from meeting in the 
field a general who in vigor of will and fertility of resource was 
unequalled by any European commander who had appeared since the 
death of Marlborough. 

******* 

"The madcap Charles Townsend, the motion of whose pyrotechnic 
mind was like the whiz of a hundred rockets, is a man of genius ; but 
George Washington, raised up above the level of even eminent states- 
men, and with a nature moving with the still and orderly celerity of a 
planet round its sun, — he dwindles, in comparison, into a kind of 
angelic dunce ! What is genius ? Is it worth anything ? Is splen- 
did folly the measure of its inspiration ? Is wisdom its base and sum- 
mit, which it recedes from, or tends towards ? And by what definition 
do you award the name to the creator of an epic, and deny it to the 
creator of a country ? On what principle is it to be lavished on him 
who sculptures in perishing marble the image of possible excellence, 
and withheld from him who built up in himself a transcendent charac- 
ter, indestructible as the obligations of duty, and beautiful as her 
rewards'?" 

Edwin Percy Whipple was born at Gloucester, March 8, 1819, 
and was the youngest son of Matthew Whipple, a gentleman of 
strong sense and fine social powers, Avho died when the subject of 
this article was in infancy, — in whose ancestry we trace a signer 
of the Declaration of Independence. His mother was Lydia Gar- 
diner, of Gardiner, Maine, — a family eminent for mental power. 
His grandfather was an officer of the American Revolution, who 
sacrificed his fortune in the glorious cause. The ready, flash- 



668 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

ing, pointed -ffit, afterwards so agreeably developed in the productions 
of Edwin, partially owes its origin to the influence of the maternal side 
of the family ; and was divested of the envenomed sarcasm so peculiar 
to the Gardiner flimily, by the chastening, mild blandness of his pater- 
nal kindred. The scion of a stock from which sprang John Gardiner, 
of Boston, the eminent barrister, having a highly cultivated mind, must 
inevitably be inspired with similar rays of intellect. Our readers may 
find an account of him, as the orator for July 4, 1785. His mother 
was devotedly attached to her children, and her plastic influence largely 
contributed to the shaping their character. The family removed to 
Salem when EdAvin was but four years of age, where he was educated 
at the public schools, more especially at the English High School, under 
Master William H. Brooks, where he was distinguished as one of the 
ripest scholars, and pursued his studies until he was fifteen years of 
age, during which period he acquired a fondness for history and polite 
literature, by a free access to the Salem AthenjBum. On leaving 
school, he became a clerk in the Bank of General Interest, in that city. 
He commenced his first literary contributions for a newspaper in 
Salem, when he Avas but fourteen years of age, which he pursued for 
some years. On leaving Salem, he was employed by Dana, Fenno 
& Henshaw, brokers, on State-street, Boston ; and, shortly after the 
erection of the Merchant's Exchange, in that street, he was appointed 
to the superintendence of the news-room, and previous to that period 
he became a member of the Mercantile Library Association, and was 
soon a leader in debate and composition. It was in this model institu- 
tion that young Whipple contracted a personal friendship for Fields, 
an honored native poet of the Granite State, who made the following 
happy allusion to its members, and his literary companion, in an anni- 
versary poem for the Association, previous to entering the fields of 
matrimony : 

" What though grave fathers still my friends I meet, 

Whose nursery floors are worn with little feet ; 

What though, companion of my former years, 

Thy face at market every morn appears, 

AVhile I, still ignorant as the greenest baize, 

What goods domestic go the greatest ways. 

Grope blindly homeward to my noontide meal, 

Unknowing what my damask may reveal ; — 

Heart leaps to heart, and warmer grasps the hand. 

When autumn's bugle reunites our band ! " 



EDWIN PERCY WHIPPLE, 669 

Incidental to the Mercantile Library, there was a club known as 
" The Attic Nights," which had its meetings every Saturday night, in 
an attic room in an antique looking edifice, built of unhewn granite, 
and known as " Tudor 's Building," occupied by one of them. The 
number of its members Avas at no time to exceed six. Each member 
had a club name, and was obliged to take his turn at the chair, and no 
"presidential term" lasted longer than a single night. The "Attic 
Nights" were conducted mostly after the manner of the Noctes 
Ambrosiana, or Ambrosial Nights, of old Christopher North, as pub- 
lished in Blackwood's Magazine. The conversations at the club were 
devoted to literary subjects ; and it was the understanding that no mem- 
ber should attend, uninformed of the present state of literature, or 
unprepared to sustain opinions on literary subjects. Each member 
was to take his turn as the scribe of the meeting, as was Professor 
Wilson of the club in Edinburgh, in order to read a report of the con- 
versation at the next meeting. Here Whipple was in his element. It 
was profitable to hear his opinions and illustrations of Goethe and Schil- 
ler, Johnson and Parr, Gifibrd and Jeffrey, Wordsworth and Byron, 
and other poets, essayists, and historians. The works of all the dram- 
atists, from Kit Marlowe and rare Ben Jonson down to the days of 
Sheridan, were perfectly familiar to him. It was in this club that he 
became inspired with the thirst for essay-writing, and his naturally intu- 
itive wit, good humor and kindness of heart, rendered him a delightful 
companion ; but he is extremely modest, and rather cautious in the 
presence of professed scholars. He was first more especially intro- 
duced to public notice by the delivery of a poem before the Mercantile, 
Sept. 29, 1840, which was full of playful humor, cutting up and using 
up, amid satirical hits, with the skill of a master hand, the numerous 
fanciful theories and abstractions that are emptying the pockets and 
turning the brains of the multitude, — delighting his auditors, and draw- 
ing forth continued peals of rapturous applause. 

Early in 1843 Mr. Whipple was introduced to a more substantial 
attention, by an article of his production, inserted in the Boston Mis- 
cellany, in which he accurately analyzed the powers of Macaulay, the 
essayist and historian, who was so much gratified by its nature that he 
addressed to Mr. Whipple a letter expressive of high regard. In Octo- 
ber of the same year, he excited great public interest by his lecture, in 
presence of the same institution, on the Lives of Authors, when a jour- 
nalist said of it, that it was the production of a merchant's clerk, pos- 



670 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

sessing only a public school instruction, but -nitli a mind capable of 
great things, when brought to bear upon the world of letters. For 
several years since, he has been a contributor to the North American 
Review, Christian Examiner, and other periodicals, most of which 
appear in his volumes of Lectures and Essays. He has delivered lec- 
tures of striking merit for the hterary societies of Brown, Dartmouth, 
and Amherst. When his admirable volume of lectures was published, 
so ardent was the attachment of the IMercantile Association to this most 
talented member of their body, that nearly the whole edition was spon- 
taneously purchased by themselves, without any preconcerted action. 
To relate an agreeable instance : On the day of its publication, nine 
of the members, at one and the same time, not stating their object 
to each other, procured at Ticknor's several sets each. The public 
being thus supplanted, a new edition was forthwith issued. It is ster- 
eotyped, and classed among standard American authors. He has sin- 
gular ability in tracing out and expressing those hidden connections of 
things, and those slight, ethereal and fugitive notions, which float as 
mere glimpses or visions in most men's minds. His keen, delicate, 
agile, genial, jubilant mind, plays around and through his subject, 
threading its way along every vein of gold, like electricity. It is a 
peculiar merit of his lectures, that they are nearly all upon subjects 
which, though of great importance, are so evanescent in their nature 
that they are generally advanced by writers in the most indifferent man- 
ner. The remark of Whipple regarding Richard H. Dana the elder, in 
a review of his works in the Examiner, may. with peculiar emphasis, be 
applied to himself, that they carry with them the evidence of being the 
products of his own thinking and living, and are full of those magical 
signs which indicate patient meditation, and a nature rooted in the 
realities of things. We advise Mr. Whipple ever to write in a smooth 
transparency of style, divested of the affected quaintness of either Car- 
lyle or Emerson, imitating no author. 

" If any visiter go to Boston, and will take the trouble to go into the 
Exchange News-room," says Giles, the famous essayist, "let him look 
into a small ofiice, on the left hand, as he enters, and he will observe 
a head scarcely appearing above the door, bent down in study or com- 
position. That head belongs to Edwin Percy Whipple, — a head that 
has not many equals in the city where it thinks, or many superiors 
in the nation. Even physically it is of imposing magnitude, — of a 
massive force and breadth of brow, which might rest on the shoulders 



EDWIN PERCY WHIPPLE. 671 

of a Leibnitz, or a Luther. Large and of deep expansion is the capa- 
pacious dome over a capacious heart ; and filled as it is Avith speculations 
of noble thought, with visions and colorings of beauty, it is enriched 
and warmed with most manly and generous affections. A rare man is 
Mr. Whipple, in a rare position. There he sits in that ofiice, sur- 
rounded by all the hard, worldly passions that journalism can put 
into type, or that traffic can put into man, musing on high themes, and 
deciding great questions, in the regions of pure thought, or in the 
realms of many-hued imagination ; calling spirits from the vasty deep 
of intellect or fancy ; settling what place they are to hold in the uni- 
verse, and how they will stand related to duration, to immortality, or 
to oblivion. But, withal, there is no dreaminess in our muser, and no 
affectation of absence or abstraction. Ever alive to friendship, to cour- 
tesy, to duty, he can lay aside his ideas as he does his pen, to welcome 
a brother, to discuss politics, or to talk about the weather. Consider- 
ing that his brain may have been kindled up with the splendid concep- 
tions of Shelley, with a light almost as splendid as Shelley's own ; or 
that his heart may have been panting with feelings aroused by the 
intense pages of Byron, we cannot easily conceive of more thorough 
self-command, more complete mastery of manner and of mind. Look- 
ing at Mr. Whipple thus, in the midst of newspapers and merchants, 
and understanding in what things his faculties are generally engaged, 
we have no idea of a more remarkable union of the ideal and the 
actual." 

While the cognomen of Young England has been conceded to a mere 
clique of literati in the great metropolis, yet, in a broader and more 
generous view, we readily recognize the embodiment of Young Boston 
in the more than a thousand warm hearts of the Mercantile Library 
Association, — an institution which, Avith its weekly literary exercises, 
its lectures, its extensive library, and its cabinet of curiosities, lays a 
firm hold on commercial and intellectual progress, and is the glory of 
our city. Young Boston is a nursery of genius and rare common 
sense, rivalled only by our schools of learning ; and we hope to see the 
day when our princely citizens will endow it with an hundred thousand 
dollars, the income of which would greatly advance its noble objects. 
We admire its programme, with its executive, directors, trustees, com- 
mittee on lectures and librarians, backed up by committees on expendi- 
tures, the library, purchase of books, newspapers and pamphlets, on 
coins and curiosities, literary exercises, such as declamation, debate, 
and composition. 



072 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

"VVe will further digress, to introduce an effective allusion of Daniel 
Noycs Haskell, Avhose untiring efforts for this institution have mainly 
established its permanent basis. In his address for the association, at 
the dedication of their new rooms, Jan. 3, 1848, Mr. Haskell remarks 
of the weekly literary exercises : " I am compelled to admit that Ave 
could better afford to stop our public lectures, to sink our fund, — yes, 
even to vacate these new and beautiful rooms, and to ask the Legisla- 
ture to take back their parchment charter, with its honored autographs. 
— than to give up these frequent gatherings, where mind meets mind, 
truth and error grapple, where character is developed, and talents find 
the standard of their influence." 

Success to Young Boston, which, having fashioned and given consist- 
ence to the mind of our young American Macaulay, were honored 
enough, without regard to the resistless influence most manifestly 
developing talent and mental vigor, by its order of operation ! Success 
to Young Boston ! May you ever be ambitious for eminent elevation to 
the post of honor in any useful pursuit of life, as have your Whipple 
and Fields, who, though never having roved in the groves of Harvard, 
are honorary members of its Phi Beta Kappa Society ; and may those 
of you who aspire to the post of honor in commercial life be coun- 
selled by the admired Fields, who says, in answer to the inquiry, 

" Does our pathway e'er conduct to fame ? 
The merchant's honor is his spotless name ; 
Not circumscribed, just narrowed to the rank 
That passes current only at the bank, — 
But, stamped with soul, howe'er the winds may blow, 
Large as the sunlight, and unstained as snow; 
Do good by stealth, be just, have faith in man ; 
The rest to heaven, God always in the van ; — 
Though silent deeds may find no tongue to bless 
Through the loud trumpet of the public press. 
Time-honored city ! be it ours to stand 
For thy broad portals, armed with traffic's wand ; 
To keep undimraed and dear thy deathless name. 
That beams unclouded on the rolls of fame ; 
And foster honor till the world shall say. 
Trade hath no worthier home than you bright bay." 

With the ready hand of an analyst, Mr. Whipple, in his effective 
oration at the head of this article, boldly exhibits the striking contrast 
in the characters of George the Third and George Washington. The 
three royal Georges of Old England, by an intolerant oppression of their 



EDWIN PERCY WHIPPLE. 673 

New England descendants, unconsciously originated tlie Revolution, 
which, through the wisdom and sagacity of our Washington, established 
an independent I'epublic, and inspired with the spirit of civil liberty 
every nation on the face of the whole earth. 



CHARLES THEODORE RUSSELL. 

JULY 4, 185 L FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

Charles Theodore Russell was born at Princeton, Mass., Nov. 
20, 1815 ; fitted for college in part at an academy, and in part with the 
clergyman of his native town. He entered Harvard College in the 
autumn of 1833, and graduated in 1837, on which occasion he gave 
the salutatory oration in Latin ; and, in 1840, he delivered the val- 
edictory address, when he took the degree of Master of Arts. Mr. 
Russell studied law for a period in Boston, and at the Cambridge Law 
School, and was admitted to the bar of Suffolk in September, 1839 ; 
and, in the succeeding month, commenced the practice of law in Bos- 
ton. He married, on June 1, 1840, Miss Sarah E., daughter of 
Joseph Ballister, of Dorchester. In 1843 Mr. Russell was elected to 
the House of Representatives, of which he was two years a member, 
when he declined a reelection. In 1849 he was again elected to the 
House, and in the year succeeding he was elected to the State Senate, 
of which he is now a member. Mr. Russell is the author of the His- 
tory of Princeton, from its first settlement : a valuable production, 
which was published in the year 1838. 

Mr. Russell, in the peroration to the patriotic performance at the 
head of this article, remarks : " We hear much, in these days, of 'a 
higher law.' I recognize its existence, and reverently bow before 
its manifestations. I present our Union as a striking monument of 
its moulding and guiding Omnipotence. I have desired to enhance 
the value of the magnificent structure, by exhibiting it in the hand 
of the Divine Builder. I have endeavored to show that this ' higher 
law,' by a series of concurring events, reaching back through cen- 
turies, has elaborated and evolved this successful experiment of 
human liberty. Thus originated, I claim for it the holiest sanctions 
of this law. I demand for it the support of its solemn obligations. 
The union of these States has been accomphshed by the contribu- 
57 



674 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

tions of nations and centuries, for no transient or insignificant pur- 
pose. In its sublime and ultimate end, it has a mission to humanity. 
In the language of Washington, ' the preservation of the sacred fire 
of liberty, and the destiny of the repubhcan model of government, 
are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the 
experiment intrusted to the hands of the American people.' Thus, 
as Madison has truly said, are we ' responsible for the greatest trust 
ever confided to a political society.' Ours is not the duty of forming, 
but preserving. The fathers were faithful to every exigency by which 
God created it. We are responsible for a hke faithfulness to every 
exigency by which he Avould preserve and perpetuate it. To such 
fidelity the past urges, the future calls, and the highest law commands 
us. Evils and defects Avithin our Union we may well and earnestly 
seek to remove, by the development and operation of the principles 
upon which it rests. But, whosoever lays his hand upon the fabric 
itself, or seeks, by whatever means, or under Avhatever pretence, or 
from whatever source, to undermine its foundations, is treacherous to 
humanity, false to liberty, and, more than all, culpable to God. 

"This is the inference of duty. To its performance hope, by its 
smile, encourages us. All efforts for the dissolution of our Union will 
be as disastrously unsuccessful as they are singularly criminal. Never, 
in its existence, has it been more earnestly and truly performing its 
appropriate work than now. A people in the aggregate happy and 
blessed as the sun shines upon repose in its protection. Every rolling 
tide brings to its shores multitudes seeking its shelter. Each receding 
wave carries back to the people they have left its liberalizing influ- 
ence. Rising midway of the continent, and reaching to either ocean, 
it throws over both its radiant and cheering light. Intently the strug- 
gling nations contemplate its no longer doubtful experiment. Moral 
and religious truth are penetrating every part of its vast domain, and 
planting, in the very footsteps of the first settlers, the church, the 
school, and the college. Its Christian missionaries have girdled the 
globe with their stations ; and, in all of them, heroic men and women, 
under its protection, Avith the religion of Jesus, are silently diffusing 
the principles of American liberty. Already a nation in the far off 
islands of the Pacific has been redeemed by them from barbarism, 
assumed its place among the powers of the earth, and the very last mails 
tell us is at this moment seeking admission to our republic. 

'•'Thus meeting its grand purposes, it will not fall. Man alone has 



EDWIN PERCY WHIPPLE. 675 

not reared it, the tabernacle of freedom ; and man alone cannot pros- 
trate it, or gently beam bj beam take it down. Heaven directed in its 
formation and growth; while true to its origin, it will be heaven- 
protected in its progress and maturity. The stars of God will shine 
down kindly upon it, and angels, on the beats of their silvery wings. 
will linger and hover above it. To-day it is as firmly seated as ever 
in the aflfections of its citizens. Guarded by its hardly seen power, 
reposing in its prosperity, not stopping to contemplate the character of 
its origin, or to realize its transcendent purpose, men, for a moment, 
may cast its value, speculate on its duration, and even threaten its dis- 
solution. In the administration of its affairs, conflicts of opinion will 
exist, sectional interests Avill become excited, and sometimes hostile. 
The views of ardent men will be maintained with the ardor in which 
they are held. A clear and fair field of combat will be left to error 
and truth. The largest freedom of discussion will be scrupulously 
preserved. In the consequent excitement, there may sometimes seem 
to be danger to the Union itself But, in the hour of peril, experience 
shows, and ever will show, that a whole people will rally to its support, 
and sink its foes beneath a weight of odium a life-time cannot alleviate. 
The rain may descend, the floods come, and the winds blow and beat 
upon it, — it will not fall, for it is founded upon a rock. It rests upon 
guarantees stronger even than laws and compromises. For it our 
interests combine in overwhelming potency ; around it cluster the most 
glorious associations of our history ; in it the hopes of humanity are 
involved ; to it our hearts cling with undying love ; for it religion, lib- 
erty and conscience, plead ; and, beyond all, upon it, in its riper years 
'as in its infancy, the protection of God rests, a sheltering cloud for its 
fiercer day, a pillar of fire in its darker night." 



" One great clime, 
■yVhose vigorous offspring by dividing ocean 
Are kept apart, and nursed in the devotion 
Of Freedom, which their fathers fought for, and 
Bequeathed, a heritage of heart and hand. 
And proud distinction from each other land, 
Whose sons must bow them, at a monarch's motion, 
As if his senseless sceptre were a wand 
Full of the magic of exploded science, — 
Still one great clime, in full and free defiance. 
Yet rears her crest, unconquered and sublime. 
Above the far Atlantic." Bykon. 



C76 THE nUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

THOMAS STARR KING. 

JULY 5, 1852. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. 

" The last two centuries," said our orator, " are the most remark- 
able of the world's history, for the amount of social justice that 
has been established for millions of men; and the fullest expe- 
rience of it has been on this continent, secured by the institutions 
which have made our country an original experiment and a spectacle 
in the annals of time. 

"To a scientific mind, a Humboldt or an Owen, no tidings Avould 
be freighted with such absorbing interest as the information that a 
new and high type of organization had arisen on this planet ; that the 
creative powers around us had given birth to some beautiful plant, 
some majestic tree, some strange and symmetrical animal, with higher 
functions, and more intricate constitution, than any vegetable or phys- 
ical organization known to the lists of science. With Avhat reverence 
would their minds bend before such a glorious miracle, and how eager, 
how curious and minute, would their researches be into the Avisdom 
embodied in the last and highest creation of the Intellect that rules 
the world ! 

"We all know what excitement was caused, a few years since, by 
the discovery of a new planet beyond the path of Uranus. But what 
would the amazement of an astronomer be, if he could detect in the 
sky a planet in the swift process of formation ! or what, if he could 
look through the glass into some sacred district of space, and see a 
vast continent of chaos organize itself rapidly into a system ; if every 
process by which planets and satellites are formed out of primeval 
matter could be made visible, and the forces which, upon our globe, 
have so slowly deposited the landmarks of geological ages, should con- 
dense their work into a few years, so that he could study it at leisure, 
night by night, noting each week some step of advance which on our 
globe exhausted a hundred centuries, and seeing all end in the pro- 
duction of a beauty which no orb of our own system wears ! How 
much more clearly would the study of such a creative process of nature 
reveal what the physical forces are, than any abstract description could 
convey ; and how much deeper and more solemn the impression of 
such a spectacle, than dry statements, chemical hypotheses, and math- 
ematical formulas ! 



THOMAS STARR KING. G77 

"And our history is most interesting and suggestive when viewed 
as a fresh creation from deeps of human nature that had long been 
sluggish, and whose vitality seemed to be effete. The appearance of 
our mighty millions of white democracy, stretching from ocean to 
ocean, and from the Russian latitudes to the tropical gulf, without a 
monarch, with no hereditary rulers, no lords, no titles, no vested rights, 
no despotic church, but blessed with an order such as the world has 
never seen, and a prosperity that has outrun every enthusiastic dream, 
and yet not exhausting more than half a century in the revelation of 
its most startling results, — what is it to the political student but a 
process parallel to the picture we imagined of an evolving system of 
worlds in space before the eye of an astronomer, — a magnificent and 
astonishing effort of organization, unexampled in human experience 
for the breadth of the scale, the rapidity of the development, and the 
character of the products, and revealing, as nothing else could do, the 
constructive powers that slumber in the popular brain and heart ! " 

The eloquent passage; from the unpublished oration, at the head of 
this article, was kindly contributed to this work at the special request 
of the editor. "VYe should sincerely regret that the orator had declined 
the request of the city authorities for its publication, were it not for 
the consideration that it may be the means of more extended useful- 
ness by being delivered before other large audiences in many places. 
We admire his simplicity of manner, as in the instance of proceeding 
up the mall of our beautiful Common to Park-street meeting-house, a 
while previous to the period of the audience gathering there, with the 
arm of his Avife on one side, and his clerical gown in a neat wrapper 
under his other arm, thus avoiding the parade of a long march in the 
public procession. Mr. King is remarkably self-possessed, and we 
found him as much at home on this exciting occasion as he is in the 
lecture-room. Indeed, we view him as a rare personification of pure 
eloquence, both as regards personal address and power of thought. 
This performance was on " The Organization of Liberty on the West- 
ern Continent," and was a fine illustration, as remarked by one of our 
pubhc journals, of the illumination which may be cast over a whole 
field of reflection and investigation, by vigorously conceiving the cen- 
tral principle, which includes its details, reduces the various topics of 
the general subject into order and relation, and darts light and heat 
into the duskiest corners of its cold abstractions. While listening to 
an oration in which a large and liberal philosophy gave substance and 
57* 



678 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

form to a genuine love of freedom, we could not resist the patriotic 
quibble, that, for the first time in seventy years, a Fourth of July 
audience of American democrats might join the most loyal of tories in 
his toast of " Church and King." 

The accustomed public dinner of the city authorities was partaken 
at Faneuil Hall ; but the coming admonition of the poet to our orators, 
and those who are seated at the festive-board, was not required on this 
occasion, for the oration of Mr. King was of pertinent brevity, and 
temperance presided at the feast : 

•' Solid men of Boston, banish strong potations ; 
Solid men of Boston, make no long orations." 

We will here digress for the purpose of introducing another instance 
of a more pointed allusion to this memorable passage. It appears that 
in a debate in Parliament on the Volunteer Bill, some squibbing 
occurred between Sheridan and Burke. The latter gentleman 
observed that long speeches without good materials were dangerous, 
quoting the above popular doggerel of the American war : 

" Solid men of Boston, banish strong potations ; 
Solid men of Boston, make no long orations." 

When Sheridan, imagining that the first line of the couplet, if not the 
second, apphed rather too effectively to himself, keenly retorted by 
stating that he remembered some other lines from the same approved 
author : 

" Now it hapt to the country he -went for a blessing. 
And from his state daddy to get a new lesson ; 
He went to Daddy Jenky by trimmer Hal attended, — 
In such company, good lack, how his morals must be mended ! " 

We believe the pulpit is the most fitting sphere in which Mr. King 
is adapted to move, as his heart appears absorbed in its noble duties. 
We hope that his whole soul will ever be devoted to the ministry, 
firmly resolving never to exchange the pulpit for the highest honor 
that any civil or political power may propose to confer. 

Thomas Starr King was born in the city of New York, December 
17, 1824. His father was the Rev. Thomas F. King, who married 
Miss Susan Starr, both of whom were natives of New York city. 
His early boyhood was passed in Portsmouth, N. H., and his later 



THOMAS STARR KING. 679 

youth in Charlestown, Massachusetts, where his father had the pas- 
toral care of a church. Young Mr. King was prepared for college 
but the decease of his father prevented his entrance, and he continued 
his education in the intervals of leisure obtained from his duties as a 
public school teacher, and a civil clerkship in the Navy Yard at 
Charlestown. His mind was closely devoted to a preparation for the 
ministerial office ; and on September, 1846, when at the age of twenty- 
one years, he was ordained the pastor of his father's parish in Charles- 
town, as the immediate successor of the Rev. E. II. Chapin. Mr. Kino- 
on the 17th December, 1848, was married to Miss Julia M. Wiggin, 
of East Boston ; and in that month, after the resignation of Rev. 
David Fosdick, pastor of the Hollis-street Church, in Boston, he was 
installed to its pastoral care, which station he now occupies. May this 
young prince of divines become a star of the first magnitude in the 
theological horizon ! 

Our young orator delivered a very patriotic sermon on Patriotism, 
for the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, June 2, 1851, as 
have all his predecessors in Hollis-street Church, excepting two, breath- 
ing love of country in fervent tQnes worthy of a statesman, from which 
we will cite a passage : " Here we are, successors of noble men, heirs 
of a providential past. Everything in our history incites to patriot- 
ism. The winds would fan it into activity. Every page of our annals 
preaches it. The man who cannot thank God he was born an American 
is undeserving the blessing of such birth. That consciousness, enliv- 
ening the sensibilities, should equalize fortunes. The poor man should 
not feel poor when he thinks that his humble roof and circumstances 
are sheltered by a canopy of ideas and sentiments such as never before 
arched over any palace of the world. If the humblest Catholic feels 
pride in being one member of a community that stretches from Andes 
to the Indus, and which has Christ for its founder and heaven for its 
goal, the lowliest citizen of this land should feel it an immense enlarge- 
ment of his being, — an enlargement which mere wealth could never 
give, — that he has partnership in the mission of a people along whom 
God is pouring the best hfe of the past, enriched with additional 
streams of inspiration, solicited by our own genius, into the future. 
For the tendrils of our blessings stretch far out into the centuries, and 
twine around the most precious elements of history, to draw nourish- 
ment. The human race is vitally one ; and, whatsoever is eminent 
and best in any line of social manifestation, is somehow connected 



G80 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

with other and distant portions of the common body, as the topmost 
branch of a tree bears life that is due, in part, to the health and fidel- 
ity of juices in the root, and as the ^yave that foams upon the shore 
discharges an undulation that began far out upon the sea." 

We are earnest in the wish that our Boston pulpit may never become 
the arena for Sabbath political declamation, but ever be consecrated to 
the unfoldings of sound divinity and persuasives to holy living; 
and, though cold detractors may remark that the Rev. Mr. King is no 
such orator as Horace Holley was, our persuasion is clear that we have 
repeatedly heard him " discourse most eloquent music," — an instance 
of which appears in his sermon occasioned by the decease of Deacon 
Daniel Weld, of this church, on " The Gains and Losses of a Church," 
where appears the subjoined beautiful illustration of the gain to his- 
tory in the loss of our noble Washington : " Who believes that Wash- 
ington is not with us, active as a force upon our people ? It was 
a sad day, a wintry day, indeed, — dreary to the spirit as well as to 
the body, — when he breathed out his last breath, when his pulse 
ceased forever, and all that his form which wore such majesty could 
do for his land was to consecrate the district of it, where it should 
recline for unbroken rest. The people felt that a patriot had gone, 

such as they could not expect would be given to them again 

But Washington could not have been less removed from our country 
than when he died. His spirit rose to greater influence than it had 
when housed in a mortal frame. It passed into the finer robe of liter- 
ature and history, and has become a guest in every house. The states- 
man and the patriot go to him now for counsel, and, as he speaks to 
them through their reverent meditations, no mixture of earthly pas- 
sions alloys the wisdom he imparts. His name is invoked to soften the 
asperities of party conflict when they threaten the welfare of the 
nation ; his grave sheds an efiluence of patriotic zeal and faith in 
heavenly help ; and his character, by its simple sublimity and strength, 
teaches the eyes of American childhood what grandeur there is in vir- 
tue, and what glory swathes the true patriot's name Thus 

Jiations lose men to gain history. They require a dignified past, a 
noble background to their activity, from Avhich their best minds address 
the reverence and sympathy of succeeding generations with a fresh 
and purifying power." 

We know not how so happily to draw an outline of the intellectual 
capacities of Thomas Starr King, as is exhibited in the forthcoming 



THOMAS STARR KING. 681 

graphic sketch, prepared for this work bj a literary friend, mucli 
endeared to him by the strong bonds of familiar intimacy. "Mr. 
King's peculiarities of mind and style are characterized by fluency, 
grace, sweetness, and vigor. His intellect appears to have no obstruc- 
tions to its movement. Confusion of thought, partial grasp of matter, 
obscurity of view, feeble hold upon language, have no place in his 
clear, elastic, decisive mind ; and the result is a remarkable felicity 
of expression, in which the thought is clothed in its appropriate form, 
without any appearance of effort. With great facility, sureness and 
swiftness of perception, and powers of combination capable of instant 
action on what is perceived, he seems to comprehend a subject at a 
glance, to dispose its various, topics in their right relations with equal 
readiness, and to unfold it in sermon, or lecture, or oration, with the 
lucid vigor and splendor of one to whom apt words and significant 
images are ' nimble servitors.' The metaphysical and imaginative 
tendencies of his mind meet and cohere and work together in his ordi- 
nary mental action, and he therefore touches no subject which he does 
not both analyze and adorn. To talents thus active, penetrating and 
brilliant, he adds solid acquirements in theology, philosophy, history 
and general literature, and a largeness of view and sobriety of judg- 
ment unlikely to be caught in any of the cants or entangled in any 
of the crotchets of the day. As a public speaker he happily combines 
elegance with energy, and is exceedingly popular." 

Mr. King has been a frequent contributor to several periodicals on 
various subjects, in which he displays such learning and talent, such 
penetration and quickness of perception, as would reflect honor on 
one who had received a finished classical education, though we dis- 
sent from some of his opinions. Among his articles we have spec- 
ially noticed his remarks on the Connection between Natural and 
Revealed Religion, Philosophy and Theology, Views of Recent Poetry. 
Plato's Views of Immortality, Prospects and Progress of the Nine- 
teenth Century, Universality of Christianity, the Idea of God and 
Christianity, a Review of Bushnell's Discourses, and an excellent 
article on the Character of Edwin Percy Whipple as a Writer. The 
highly felicitous allusion to Mr. W^hipple in this criticism by Mr. King 
is peculiarly characteristic of the capacities of the subject of this arti- 
cle, " that the reviews he has published bear witness that his taste is 
healthy and catholic, — that he is above suspicions of conventional and 
clanish prejudice, and that his weights and measures are trustworthy. 



G82 THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS. 

His mind is a good spiritual thermometer, and is so nicely affected by 
the genius of the book he reads, that his appreciation of it is a pretty 
accurate indication of its real temperature or grade." A perfectly 
life-like crayon head of Mr. King, taken by the junior Martin of 
London, is in the family. 

•'After the mercantile heart had devised and secured those iron 
tracks and flying trains," says Mr. King, in preaching on the Railroad 
Jubilee of September, 1851, "God took them for his purposes. 
Without paying any tax for the privilege, he uses them to quicken 
the activity of men ; to send energy and vitality where before were 
silence and barrenness ; to multiply cities and villages, studded with 
churches, dotted with schools, and filled with happy homes and bud- 
ding souls ; to increase wealth which shall partially be devoted to his 
service and kingdom, and all along their banks to make the wilderness 
blossom as the rose. Without any vote of permission from legislatures 
and officials, — even while the cars are loaded with profitable freight 
and paying passengers, and the groaning engines are earning the nec- 
essary interest, — 'Providence sends, without charge, its cargoes of 
good sentiment and brotherly feeling ; disburses the culture of the 
city to the simjilicity of the hamlet, and brings back the strength and 
virtue of the village and mountain to the wasting faculties of the 
metropolis ; and fastens to every steam-shuttle, that flies back and 
forth and hither and thither, an invisible thread of fraternal influence, 
which, entwining sea-shore and hill-country, mart and grain-field, 
forge and factory, wharf and mine, slowly prepares society to realize, 
one day, the Saviour's prayer, ' that they all may be one.' The 
beneficent genius of the age keeps his special and invisible express, 
laden with packages of providential blessings, upon every train that 
runs through our communities ; and it seems, as the cars fly along the 
avenues Avhich selfish traffic has created, that the villages, which are 
everywhere threaded like beads along the iron wires, are, to use the 
language of another, ' counted off by the spirit of our age as so many 
pater-nosters upon its rosary, in its swift worship of gratitude for the 
dawn of the age of peace.' " 



WEBSTER'S EARLIEST ORATION, 

AT THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN YEARS. 

JSTot embodied in any edition of his published works. It was pronounced at Han- 
over, J\r. H., July 4, 1800, when he tvas a member of the junior class in Dart- 
mouth University. 



" Do thou, great Liberty, inspire our souls. 
And make our lives in thy possession happy, 
Or our deaths glorious in thy just defence ! " 

Addison. 



Countrymen, Brethren, and Fathers : 

We are now assembled to celebrate an anniversary ever to be held in dear remem- 
brance by the sons of freedom. Nothing less than the birth of a nation, — nothing 
less than the emancipation of three millions of people from the degrading chains of 
foreign dominion, — is the event we commemorate. 

Twenty-four years have this day elapsed since united Columbia first raised the 
standard of liberty, and echoed the shouts of independence ! 

Those of you who were then reaping the iron harvest of the martial field, whose 
bosoms then palpitated for the honor of America, will, at this time, experience a 
renewal of all that fervent patriotism, of all those indescribable emotions, which 
then agitated your breasts. As for us, who were either then unborn, or not far 
enough advanced beyond the threshold of existence to engage in the grand conflict for 
liberty, we now most cordially unite with you to greet the return of this joyous anni- 
versary, to hail the day that gave us freedom, and hail the rising glories of our 
counti-y ! 

On occasions like tliis, you have heretofore been addressed from this stage on the 
nature, the origin, the expediency, of civil government. The field of pohtical specu- 
lation has here been explored by persons possessing talents to which the speaker of 
the day can have no pretensions. Declining, therefore, a dissertation on the princi- 
ples of civil polity, you will indulge me in slightly sketching on those events 
which have originated, nurtured, and raised to its present grandeur, the empire of 
Columbia. 

As no nation on the globe can rival us in the rapidity of our growth since the con- 
clusion of the Revolutionary war, so none perhaps ever endured greater hardships and 
distresses than the people of this country previous to that period. 

We behold a feeble band of colonists, engaged in the arduous undertaking of a 
new settlement, in the wilds of North America. Their civil liberty being mutilated, 
and the enjoyment of their religious sentiments denied them, in the land that gave 
them bia-th, they fled their country, they braved the dangers of the then almost 
unnavigated ocean, and sought, on the other side the globe, an asylum from the iron 
grasp of tyranny, and the more intolerable scourge of ecclesiastical persecution. But 
gloomy, indeed, was their prospect when arrived on this side the Atlantic. Scattered 
in detachments along a coast immensely extensive, at a remove of more than three 
thousand miles from their friends on the eastern continent, they were exposed to all 



684 Webster's earliest oration. 

those evils, and endured all tliose difBculties, to -which human nature seems liable. 
Destitute of convenient habitations, the inclemencies of the seasons attacked them, 
the midnight beasts of prey prowled terribly around them, and the moi-e portentous 
yell of savage fury incessantly assailed them ! But the same undiminished confidence 
in Almighty God, which prompted the first settlers of this country to forsake the 
unfriendly climes of Europe, still supported them under all their calamities, and 
inspired them with fortitude almost divine. Having a glorious issue to their labors 
now in prospect, they cheerfully endured the rigors of the climate, pursued the sav- 
age beast to his remotest haunt, and stood undismayed in the dismal hour of Indian 
battle ! 

Scarcely were the infant settlements freed from those dangers which at first envi- 
roned them, ere the clashing interests of France and Britain involved them anew in 
war. The colonists were now destined to combat with well-appointed, well-disciplined 
troops from Europe ; and the horrors of the tomahawk and scalping-knife were again 
renewed. But these frowns of fortune, distressing as they were, had been met with- 
out a sigh and endured without a groan, had not imperious Britain presumptuously 
arrogated to herself the glory of victories achieved by the bravery of American militia. 
Louisburg must be taken, Canada attacked, and a frontier of more than one thou- 
sand miles defended, by untutored yeomanry, while the honor of every conquest 
must be ascribed to an English army. 

But, while Great Britain was thus ignominiously stripping her colonies of their 
well-earned laurel, and triumphantly weavmg it into the stupendous wreath of her 
own martial glories, she was unwittingly teaching them to value themselves, and 
effectually to resist, in a future day, her unjust encroachments. 

The pitiful tale of taxation now commences ; the unhappy quarrel, which issued in 
the dismemberment of the British empire, has here its origin. 

England, now triumphant over the united powers of France and Spain, is deter- 
mined to reduce to the condition of slaves her American subjects. 

AVe might now display the legislatures of the several states, together with the general 
Congress, petitioning, praying, remonstrating, and, like dutiful subjects, humbly 
laying their grievances before the throne. On the other hand, we could exhibit a 
British Parliament assiduously devising means to subjugate America, disdaining our 
petitions, trampling on our rights, and menacingly telling us, in language not to be 
misunderstood, " Ye shall be slaves ! " We could mention the haughty, tyrannical, 
perfidious Gage, at the head of a standing army ; we could show our brethren 
attacked and slaughtered at Lexington, our property plundered and destroyed at 
Concord ! Recollection can still pain us with the spiral flames of burning Charles- 
town, the agonizing groans of aged parents, the shrieks of widows, orphans and 
infants ! Indelibly impressed on our memories still live the dismal scenes of Bun- 
ker's awful mount, — the grand theatre of New England bravery, where slaughter 
stalked grimly triumphant, — where relentless Britain saw her soldiers, the unhappy 
instruments of despotism, follen in heaps beneath the nervous arm of injured freemen ! 
There the great Warren fought ; and there, alas ! he fell. Valuing life only as it 
enabled him to serve his country, he freely resigned himself a willing martyr- in the 
cau.se of liberty, and now lies encircled in the arms of glory ! 

Peace to the patriot's shades ! Let no rude blast 
Disturb the willow that nods o'er liis tomb ! 
Let orphan tears bedew his sacred urn, 
And Fame's loud trump proclaim the liero's name 
Far as the circuit of the spheres extends ! 



WEBSTER S EARLIEST ORATION. 685 

But, haughty Albion, thy reign shall soon be over ! Thou shalt triumph no longer '. 
Thine empire already reels and totters ; thy laurels even now begin to wither, and 
thy fame decays ; thou hast at length roused the indignation of an insulted people ; 
— thine oppressions they deem no longer tolerable ! 

The 4th day of July, 1776, is now arrived ; and America, manfully springing from 
the torturing fangs of the British lion, now rises majestic in the pride of her sover- 
eignty, and bids her eagle elevate his wings ! The solemn Declaration of Independ- 
ence is now pronounced, amidst crowds of admiring citizens, by the supreme council 
of our nation, and received with the unbounded plaudits of a grateful people. 

That was the hour when heroism was proved — when the souls of men were tried. 
It was then, ye venerable patriots, it was then you stretched the indignant arm, and 
unitedly swore to be free ! Despising such toys as subjugated empires, you then knew 
no middle fortune between liberty and death. Firmly relying on the patronage of 
Heaven, unwarped in the resolution you had taken, you then, undaunted, met, 
engaged, defeated the gigantic power of Britain, and rose triumphant over the i-uins 
of your enemies. Trenton, Princeton, Bennington and Saratoga, were the successive 
theatres of your victories, and the utmost bounds of creation are the limits to your 
fame. The sacred fire of freedom, then enkindled in your breasts, shall be perpetu- 
ated through the long descent of future ages, and burn, with undiminished fervor, in 
the bosoms of millions yet unborn. 

Finally, to close the sanguinary conflict, to grant America the blessings of an hon- 
orable peace, and clothe her heroes with laurels, Cornwallis, at whose feet the kings 
and princes of Asia have since thrown their diadems, was compelled to submit to the 
sword of our father AVashington. The great drama is now completed ; our independ- 
ence is now acknowledged, and the hopes of our enemies are blasted forever. Colum- 
bia is now seated in the forum of nations, and the empires of the world are lost in the 
bright effulgence of her glory. 

Thus, friends and citizens, did the kind hand of overruling Providence conduct us 
through toils, fatigues and dangers, to independence and peace. If piety be the 
rational exercise of the human soul, if religion be not a chimera, and if the vestiges 
of heavenly assistance are clearly traced in those events which mark the annals of our 
nation, it becomes us on this day, in consideration of the great things which the Lord 
has done for us, to render the tribute of unfeigned thanks to that God who superin- 
tends the universe, and holds aloft the scale that weighs the destinies of nations. 

The conclusion of the Revolutionary war did not conclude the great achievements 
of our countrymen. Their military character was then, indeed, sufficiently estab- 
lished ; but the time was coming which should prove their political sagacity. 

No sooner was peace restored with England, the first grand article of which was the 
acknowledgment of our independence, than the old system of confederation, dictated 
at first by necessity, and adopted for the purposes of the moment, was found inade- 
quate to the government of an extensive empire. Under a full conviction of this, we 
then saw the people of these states engaged in a transaction which is undoubtedly the 
greatest approximation towards human perfection the political world ever yet expe- 
rienced, and whtch, perhaps, will forever stand, on the history of mankind, without a 
parallel. A great repubUc, composed of difterent states, whose interest, in all 
respects, could not be perfectly conijiatible, then came deliberately forward, dis- 
carded one system of government and adopted another, without the loss of one man's 
blood. 

There is not a single government now existing in Europe which is not based in 
usm-pation, and established, if established at all, by the sacrifice of thousands. But, 

58 



086 "Webster's earliest oration. 

in the adoption of our present system of jurisprudence, we see the powers necessary 
for government voluntarily springing from the people, their only proper origin, and 
directed to the public good, their only proper object. 

With peculiar propriety we may now felicitate oui-selves on that happy form of 
mixed government under which we live. The advantages resulting to the citizens of 
the Union from the operation of the federal constitution are utterly incalculable ; 
and the day when it was received by a majority of the states shall stand on the cata- 
logue of American anniversaries second to none but the birth-day of independence. 

In consequence of the adoption of our present system of government, and the vir- 
tuous manner in which it has been administered by a Washington and an Adams, we 
are this day in the enjoyment of peace, while war devastates Europe. We can now sit 
down beneath the shadow of the olive, while her cities blaze, her streams run purple 
with blood, and her fields glitter a forest of bayonets. The citizens of America can 
this day throng the temples of freedom, and renew their oaths of fealty to independ- 
ence, while Holland, our once sister republic, is erased from the catalogue of nations, 
— whilst Venice is destroyed, Italy ravaged, and Switzerland, the once happy, the 
once united, the once flourishing Switzerland, lies bleeding at every pore. 

No ambitious foe dares now invade our counti'y. No standing army now endangers 
our liberty. Our commerce, though subject in some degree to the depredations of the 
belligerent powers, is extended from pole to pole ; and our navy, though just emerg- 
ing from non-existence, shall soon vouch for the safety of our merchantmen, and bear 
the thunder of freedom around the ball. 

Fair science, too, holds her gentle empire amongst us, and almost innumerable 
altars are raised to her divinity, from Brunswick to Florida. Yale, Providence and 
Harvard, now grace our land ; and Dartmouth, towering majestic above the gi'oves 
which encircle her, now inscribes her glory on the registers of fame. Oxford and 
Cambridge, those oriental stars of literature, shall now be lost, while the bright sun 
of American science displays his broad circumference in uneclipsed radiance. 

Pleasing, indeed, were it here to dilate on the future grandeur of America ; but 
we forbear, and pause, for a moment, to drop the tear of affection over the graves of 
our departed warriors. Their names should be mentioned on every anniversary of 
independence, that the youth of each successive generation may learn not to value 
life, Avhen held in competition with their country's safety. 

Wooster, Montgomery and Mercer, fell bravely in battle, and their ashes are now 
entombed on the fields that witnessed their valor. Let their exertions in our coun- 
try's cause be remembered while liberty has an advocate or gratitude has place in the 
human heart ! 

Greene, the immortal hero of the Carolinas, has since gone down to the grave loaded 
with honors, and high in the estimation of his countrymen. The courageous Putnam 
has long slept with his fathers ; and Sullivan and Cilley, New Hampshire's veteran 
sons, are no more numbered with the living. 

With hearts penetrated by unutterable grief, we are at length constrained to ask. 
Where is our Washington ? Where the hero who led us to victory ? — where the 
man who gave us freedom ? Where is he who headed our feeble army when destruc- 
tion threatened us, who came upon our enemies like the storms of winter, and scat- 
tered them like leaves before the Borean blast ? Where, my country, is thy polit- 
ical saviour ? Where, humanity, thy favorite son ? 

The solemnity of this assembly, the lamentations of the American people, will 
answer, " Alas ! he is now no more — the mighty is fallen ! " 

Yes, Americans, your Washington is gone ! He is now consigned to dust, and 



WEBSTER'S EARLIEST ORATION. 687 

"sleeps in dull, cold marble." The man who never felt a wound but when it pierced 
his country, who never groaned but when fail- Freedom bled, is now forever silent ! 
Wrapped in the shroud of death, the dark dominions of the grave long since received 
him, and he rests in undisturbed repose. Vain were the attempt to express our loss, 
— vain the attempt to describe the feelings of our souls. Though months have rolled 
away since he left this terrestrial orb and sought the shining worlds on high, yet the 
sad event is still remembered with increased sorrow. The hoary-headed partaker of 
177G still tells the mournful story to the listening infant, till the loss of his country 
touches his heart, and patriotism fires his breast. The aged matron still laments the 
loss of the man beneath whose banners her husband has fought, or her son has 
fallen. At the name of Washington the sympathetic tear still glistens in the eye of 
every youthful hero, nor does the tender sigh yet cease to heave in the fair bosom of 
Columbia's daughters. 

Farewell, Washington ! a long- farewell ! 

Thy country's tears embalm thy memory. 

Thy vu'tues challenge immortality ! 

Impressed on grateful hearts, thy name shall live 

Till dissolution's deluge drown the world. 

Although we must feel the keenest sorrow at the demise of our Washington, yet we 
console ourselves with the reflection that his virtuous compatriot, his worthy suc- 
cessor, — the firm, the wLse, the inflexible Adams, — still survives. Elevated by the 
voice of his country to the supreme executive magistracy, he constantly adheres to 
her essential interests ; and, with steady hand, draws the disguising veil from the 
intrigues of foreign enemies and the plots of domestic foes. Having the honor of 
America always in view, never fearing, when wisdom dictates, to stem the impetuous 
torrent of popular resentment, he stands amidst the fluctuations of party and the 
explosions of faction, unmoved as Atlas, 

" 'While storms and tempests thunder on its brow, 
And oceans break their billows at its feet." 

Yet all the vigilance of our executive, and all the wisdom of our Congress, have not 
been sufficient to prevent this country from being in some degree agitated by the con- 
vulsions of Europe. But why shall every quarrel on the other side the Atlantic 
interest us in its issue ? Why shall the rise or depression of every party there pro- 
duce here a corresponding vibration ? Was this continent designed as a mere satel- 
lite to the other ? Has not nature here wrought all her operations on her broadest 
scale ? Where are the Mississippis and the Amazons, the Alleghanies and the Andes, of 
Europe, Asia, or Africa .' The natural superiority of America clearly indicates that 
it was designed to be inhabited by a nobler race of men, possessing a superior form 
of government, superior patriotism, superior talents, and superior virtues. Let, 
then, the nations of the east vainly waste their strength in destroying each other. 
Let them aspire at conquest, and contend for dominion, till their continent is deluged 
in blood. But let none, however elated by victory, however proud of triumphs, ever 
presume to intrude on the neutral station assumed by our country ! 

Britain, twice humbled for her aggressions, has at length been taught to respect 
us ; but France, once our ally, has dared to insult us. She has violated her obliga- 
tions ; she has depredated our commerce ; she has abused our government, and riv- 
eted the chains of bondage on our unhappy fellow-citizens. Not content with 
ravaging and depopulating the fairest countries of Europe, — not yet satiated with 
the contortions of expiring republics, the convulsive agonies of subjugated nations. 



688 "WEBSTER'S EARLIEST ORATION. 

and the groans of her own slaughtered citizens, — she has spouted her fury across the 
Atlantic, and the stars and stripes of independence have almost been attacked in our 
harbors. When we have demanded reparation, she has told us, " Give us your 
money, and we will give you peace." Mighty nation ! Magnanimous republic ! Let 
her fill her coffers from those towns and cities which she has plundered ; and grant 
peace, if she can, to the shades of those millions whose death she has caused ! 

But Columbia stoops not to tyrants ; her sons will never cringe to France. Nei- 
ther a supercilious five-headed Directory, nor the gasconading pilgrim of Egypt, will 
ever dictate terms to sovereign America. The thunder of our cannon shall insure the 
performance of our treaties, and fulminate destruction on Frenchmen, till old ocean 
is crimsoned with blood and gorged with pirates ! 

It becomes us, on whom the defence of our country will ere long devolve, this day 
most seriously to reflect on the duties incumbent upon us. Our ancestors bravely 
snatched expiring liberty from the grasp of Britain, whose touch is poison. Shall we 
now consign it to France, whose embrace is death ? We have seen our fathers, in the 
days of Columbia's trouble, assume the rough habiliments of war, and seek the hos- 
tile field. Too full of sorrow to speak, we have seen them wave a last farewell to a 
disconsolate, a woe-stung family. We have seen them return, worn down with 
fiitigue and scarred with wounds ; or we have seen them, perhaps, no more. For us 
they fought, for us they bled, for us they conquered ! Sliall we, their descendants, now 
basely disgrace our lineage, and pusillanimously disclaim the legacy bequeathed us ? 
Shall we pronounce the sad valediction to Freedom, and immolate Liberty on the altars 
our fathers have raised to her ? No ! The response of a nation is, " No ! " Let it 
be registered in the archives of heaven, — Ere the religion we profess, and the priv- 
ileges we enjoy, are sacrificed at the shrines of despots and demagogues, let the pillars 
of creation tremble ! Let world be wrecked on world, and systems rush to ruin ! 
Let the sons of Europe be vassals ! Let her hosts of nations be a vast congregation 
of slaves ! But let us, who are this day free, whose hearts are yet unappalled, and 
whose right arms are yet nerved for war, assemble before the hallowed temple of 
Columbian freedom, and swear, to the God of our fathers, to preserve it secure, on die 
at its portals ! 



W'e regard the town histories constantly rising in our country as affording greater 
facilities toward a more perfect national history than has yet appeared ; and such 
a work as the History of the Town of New Ipswich, N. H., by Frederic Kidder, a 
retired merchant, and by Augustus A. Gould, a physician and naturalist, is decidedly 
one of the best conceptions of what a town histoiy should be that has ever met our 
eye. We find in this work the following felicitous letter of Mr. Webster to Chief 
Justice Farrar, on his first appointment to a civil office, which transpired when he 
was a student at law ; in relation to whom Mr. Webster has frequently remarked that 
he never knew a judge of a more calm, dispassionate, and impartial character, a better 
hstener to a discussion, or a man more anxious to discover the truth and to do justice. 
In these traits of character he thought him veiy much to resemble the late Chief 
Justice Marshall. 

"Salisbtjky, July 12, 1804. 

" Instances of favors conferred sometimes occur, in which it is not a little difficult 
to determine whether a respectful silence or an open acknowledgment is most likely to 
be well received by him who has obliged us. But, though it may be uncertain whether 



DANIEL "WEBSTER. boy 

we ought to speak, it is yet sometimes difficult to be silent, when kind things are done 
in a kind manner. 

" My honored father informed me that, on an expected vacancy in the clerkship of 
the Court of Common Pleas in this county, you were pleased to mention my name to 
the court as a candidate for that office. I should be happy if on this occasion I could 
express my gratitude in terms not likely to offend against the delicacy of your feel- 
ings. I confess I was gratified, as well as surprised, by this unexpected mark of dis- 
tinction ; particularly so, as I have not the honor of much acquaintance with you, 
and am destitute of many of those aids which make young men known in the world 
beyond the sphere of their personal friends. 

" Office and emolument have, I hope, their just, and no more than their just, 
estimation in my mind ; but, aside from the consideration of these, and though I 
should never in this case possess them, the nomination will add something to my hap- 
piness, as I shall be the better pleased with myself for having been thought worthy 
an office of trust and confidence by Judge Farrar. 
" I am, sir, with high respect, 

" Your humble sei-vant, Daxiel Webstek." 

"Hon. Tdiothy Farr.ui, New Ipswich, N. H." 

An interesting incident has very recently been related to the editor of this work, as 
having happened to Mr. Webster before he had been long at the bar in the Court of 
Common Pleas for the county of Piockingham. He had obtained a verdict for his 
client, which the opposing counsel — the late Gov. Plumer — had moved to set aside. 
Mr. Webster, in resisting this motion, addressed the court at considerable length, and 
In a well-studied argument, upon the power of courts over the verdicts of juries, and 
especially how flir that power could be properly exercised by courts of inferior juris- 
diction. We remember, among other authorities, he cited rather a peremptory saying 
of Lord Chief Justice Holt, that he would not permit an inferior court to regard itself 
as a better judge of the law than a jury of the king's subjects. When he sat down, 
a member of the bar now living, Mr. Moody Kent, said to him, " Now, my friend, 
you have made a good argument ; but it had one great fault in it, and that is, that 
your first proposition was so far in advance of the knowledge of the court, that 
although we, at the bar, understood you, yet what you said was heathen Greek to 
those you addressed." In this respect Mr. AVebster soon learned a most useful les- 
son from his sagacious and elder friend, the late Mr. Mason, whose shrewdness was 
remarkable for selecting always the most suitable and effective argument for the 
tribunal. 



A recent traveller from Egypt (Rev. Alexander J. Sessions) has remarked to the 
editor of this work that its title, " The Hundred Boston Orators," reminded him of 
the Hall of a Hundred Pillars at Karnak, which, on a careful examination, he found 
comprised the number of political pillars noticed in this work. We think the cogno- 
men applial to this volume is appropriate, as thei-e are exactly one hundred of whom 
a more detailed statement is furnished. And, in passing, the editor repels any implied 
censure for not presenting a more extended account of the residue, as materials of much 
public interest were difficult to be obtained. In reference to the publication of every 
one of the orations in an entire form, while we are well apprised of the pleasure their 
appearance would render the antiquarian, it is our decided opinion that the plan here 
adopted, of selecting the noblest passages from a part of them, is the greatest act of 
justice to the authors, and in several instances is more grateful to their memory, and 
more consonant to the popular taste. 

58* 



690 HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 



HARRISON GRAY OTIS. 

The passage herewith is selected from his English oration, delivered in 1783, at 
Harvard College, when he was graduated. 

" The greatest danger to -which a state is exposed, after deliverance from an enemy, 
results from the lethargy which naturally accompanies an opinion of security. It is 
particularly incumbent upon America to avoid this listless inattention to her internal 
poUce. It is true our constitution is delineated, but it is hardly advanced beyond the 
outlines. Our situation is different from that of established republics. They fight for 
the privilege of adhering to ancient customs ; we have fought for liberty to introduce 
new. They wish only to confirm their laws ; we have ours to form. The Union of 
these States was founded upon common danger. A coincidence of customs and laws 
was not the cause ; we must labor to make it the efiect. We must combat our ancient 
prejudices, which are unavoidably tinctured with a regard for some old regulations, 
which may insensibly lead us to swerve from principles strictly republican 

" In considering the means of preserving our freedom, the first idea which occurs 
is the necessity of preventing restrictions upon the press. 

"Independent sentiment must be the energizing principle of independent states; 
and for the conveyance of this the press is the most speedy, if not the only vehicle. 
Private instructions to representatives are by no means competent. They ought to be 
acquainted with the general opinion relative to ordinary occurrences ; and, although 
the press should sometimes be prostituted to the purposes of scurrility and abuse of 
the government, still it is better to give vent to these peccant humors when their 
general diffusion will almost annihilate their contagion, than sutler them to mortify 
in a tavern or a village, and presently burst forth with increased virulence. 

" In short, liberty of the press was the last vestige of Britain's freedom, and that 
was effaced by the imprisonment of an honest printer. ' ' 

In the second English oration, delivered two years afterwards upon the all-engross- 
ing topic of the existing national difficulties, we find the following eloquent remarks : 

"I shall, however, repeat the sentiment of a great politician, — 'If,' says he, 
' there be such criminals as robbers, traitors, assassins, who deserve to be punished 
with more than ordinary severity, I should not hesitate to place at the head of the 
bloody catalogue the man who would defeat the application of the public money to 
the support of the public credit. ' 

«' There is one expedient which some people, in the fulness of distress, have wished 
to see adopted, but which we venture to predict would give the death-wound to our 
public credit. The emission of a paper currency, — would not this measure prove 
the harbinger to a train of the most flagrant frauds and sordid vices ? "Would it not 
exhibit our national faith and dignity as objects of derision, hasten the decline of the 
republic, and aggravate the horror of her fall ? Surely nothing can be more chimer- 
ical than the idea of an unfunded, irredeemable currency, destitute of all the intrin- 
sic properties of a medium. This description will certainly be applicable to an emis- 
sion of paper at this period. It is impossible to constitute a fund that could be 
appropriated to its redemption. To suppose that government should assess taxes in 
specie for this purpose is a manifest absurdity, since the adoption of a paper money 
implies a scarcity of coin adequate to defray the public charges ; and the distinction 
between specie and paper thus authorized by government would continually hold to 
view the iusufiBciency of the latter, and totally destroy its credit. The system adopted 
in a neighboring state, of forming a loan upon mortgage, might easily be proved feeble 



SOLID MEN OF BOSTON. 691 

in its basis, and injurious in its practice. The government -will eitlier become the solo 
proprietary of the lands, or (which is more probable) will finally release them with- 
out redemption, while the depreciated paper sinks in the hands of the unfortunate 
persons who are compelled to receive it. 

" The annihilation of our former bills of credit, without producing some dreadful 
convulsion, furnishes no argument against the probability of the universal uproar that 
would now ensue upon the failure of a new emission. The burthen then fell princi- 
pally upon the weak and impotent. Where could the helpless widow find protection ? 
To whom could the little orphan lisp his wrongs ? But, should this illusion again be 
introduced, the calamitous effects of the famous system in France, and the more dif- 
fusive wretchedness attendant on the South Sea scheme in England, would appear an 
imperfect miniature of the distress that will swallow up the nation." 



"SOLID MEN OF BOSTON." 

BY CHARLES C. HAZEWELL. 

In a number of the Boston Courier appears an article which opens thus : 
" ' Solid Men of Boston.' — Many persons have asked for the original of the quo- 
tation introduced by Mr. Webster in his speech at Faneuil Hall, May 21, 1852. It 
was copied from a political jeu d'esprit, written by one of the London wits at the 
time when Boston first commenced to make a noise in the world, and her port troubles 
and her patriotic resolutions first became known in Europe. The whole verse ran . 

' Solid men of Boston, drink no strong potations ; 
Solid men of Boston, make no long orations ; 
Solid men of Boston, go to bed at sundown, 
And you 'U never lose your way, like the loggerheads of London.' 

" The quotation was very felicitously introduced into the dinner speech of Hon. 
George S. Hillard, before the New England Society of New York, last winter, with a 
sketch of its origin ; and, as the speech has never been printed here, we cannot do 
better than to publish the whole at this time." 

The Courier then proceeds to give Mr. Hillard's speech ; and a very elegant, elo- 
quent and scholarly production it is, like all the efforts of its distinguished author 
that we have seen. We copy from it the following paragraph : 

" Mr. President and Gentlemen of the New England Society, — I thank you for 
your kind reception of me, and I would that it were in my power to coin wishes into 
words, and thanks into wit, that I might the better express to you my acknowledg- 
ments. In the early stages of our Revolutionary struggle, it so occurred that Mr. 
Pitt, then a very young man, with Mr. Dundas, and one or two other political friends, 
retired from Parliament on one occasion into some suburban retreat in the neighbor- 
hood of London, there, perchance, to meditate on high political themes. On their 
return, late at night, doubtless in a state of transcendental elevation, in reference to 
the topics in the discussion of which they had indulged, they ran through a turnpike 
gate without paying any toll, and the keeper of the gate discharged a musket after 
them, which fortunately took no effect. The incident was taken up by the wits of the 
rival party, and Captain Morris, at the time a sort of poet-laureate of the whigs, wrote 
a song upon it, ia which, in allusion to our Revolutionary struggle, he says, 



602 SOLID MEN OF BOSTON. 

' Solid men of Boston, make no long orations ; 
Solid men of Boston, drink no deep potations.' 

" Mr. President, I am afraid I shall not get out of the clutches of this New England 
Society of New York, without violating both these precepts. I made you a long ora- 
tion yesterday, and, from the temptation there is before me, I am afraid of the deep 
potations to-night. But then I will take refuge in the other alternative ; for it is 
very true, and you will bear me witness, that yesterday I drank no deep potations, 
and to-day I will make no long oration." 

It is a little curious, and perhaps rather consoling to us dull fellows, who have not 
the faculty of making speeches, that so well read a man as Mr. Hillard should have 
fallen into two or three amusing errors respecting a period of English history tol- 
erably familiar to even Americans who can make no pretensions whatever to being 
well read. " The early stages of our Revolutionary struggle " cannot be placed fur- 
ther back than 1775-0, at which time William Pitt was only some sixteen or seven- 
teen years of age, and had no connection whatever with the ministry. His political 
sympathies, if he felt any, were with his father, who was the greatest of those states- 
men — Burke alone excepted — that opposed the attack made by the British govern- 
ment on the rights of the American colonies. It is a familiar fact that a few years 
later he entered Parliament as a member of the opposition party. In 1775-6 the 
North ministry was at the height of its power, and Mr. Dundas was a supporter of 
it, and a useful and influential supporter too, with no feeling in common with any 
member of the Pitt family or connection. In after days, Dundas and the younger 
Pitt became intimately associated, and for a long time acted together as brother min- 
isters ; but, when the latter entered public life, he did so as a warm opponent of 
Dundas and his party. It was one of the singular consequences of the death of the 
Marquis of Rockingham, and of coalition between Fox and North, that Pitt and 
Dundas became friends and associates, — bound together by ties for stronger, it 
should seem, than those which usually form the connecting links of politicians and 
statesmen. The Pitt ministry was formed in 1783-4, after the war between England 
and America had ceased, and when the tory party had assumed a new character, 
under the leadership of a man who certainly had no reason to be looked upon as 
being himself a representative of tory principles. 

The Maine law was, unhappily, quite unknown to those barbarian times. If there 
were temperance lecturers then, histoi-y has not condescended to record their efforts. 
They are forgotten, like the brave men who lived and died so long ago. It was an 
age of hard di-inking, hard swearing, hard thinking, and " fast " driving. From the 
first minister of the crown to the last peasant who paid taxes to the ci'own, there was 
hardly a man in England who did not swallow enough strong drink, in a twelve- 
month, to sober a modern temperance society by the mere thought of it. Great peo- 
ple drank wine and brandy ; little people swilled ale and beer, and British gin. 
Altogether it might be called a beastly age, only that beasts are not so beastly as to 
got drunk. It was an age of what Thomson, in the preceding generation, had called 
" serious drinking." William Pitt was the first subject and the chief drunkard of 
the realm of England. Drinking was both a business and a pleasure with him. As 
the Irishman treated sleep, so did he treat drinking, — "he paid attention to it." 
Port wine was his favorite tipple, and we may suppose that he took it as Job Pippins did 
his ale, calling for " the best." AVe may be sure that, however great may have been 
the consumption of logwood, elderberries, &c., in the British empii-e, as a conse- 



SOLID MEN OF BOSTON. 693 

quence of the Metliuen treaty, William Pitt drank only " genuine crusted old Port." 
It was said of him, years later, that he " died of Austerlitz — and Port wine." In 
fact, his fate was not very unlike that of a celebrated Irishman, mentioned by the 
beautiful Donna Julia, if you substitute war for love ; and they are as nearly allied 
as kissing and contention. 

" Lord Mount Coffeehouse, the Irish peer, 
Who killed himself for love (with wine) last year." 

To get drunk, or at least to swallow liquor enough to make a modern cabinet too 
drunk to be actively mischievous, was the relaxation of a great minister sixty years 
since. Who shall say that the world has not improved in that time ? Were a modern 
statesman to exhibit himself to the world in the character of an "old soaker," or 
were he to dash through a turnpike gate in a condition not far removed from delirimii 
tremens, he would need no Austerlitz to do his busmess. His liquor would be suffi- 
cient for that. But this is digression, into which we are tempted by the recollection 
that great men do not now drink to excess, excej^t in the strictest ijrivacy. 

It was when he was returning from a visit to Mr. Jenkinson, who was afterwards 
made Lord Liverpool, that Mr. Pitt "bilked" the keeper of what Mr. Weller would 
call '« a pike," at Wimbledon. To do him justice, the act was not done maliciously, 
but in consequence of the gentleman who sat at the toll-gate not being ready to 
take the toll. The premier was accompanied by Mr. Dundas and Lord Thurlow, 
the latter being chancellor and keeper of the king's conscience, —no sinecure, by the 
way, in the reign of George III. The joke had fallen in their way, and they rode on, 
vastly pleased at its occurrence. The pike-keeper was a ferocious fellow (all pike- 
keepers are misanthropes, according to Mr. Weller), and he fired a heavily-loaded 
gun after them, under the sly pretence that he mistook them for thieves. Captain 
Morris, who was, as Mr. Hillard says, " a sort of poet-laureate of the whigs," made 
this adventure the theme of what he called an American Song, in which a Yankee 
tells the story, with suitable alterations and embelhshments. The last verse of the 
song is that quoted by Mr. Webster, though he slightly altered it from the original : 

" Solid men of Boston, ' banish ' strong potations ; 
Solid men of Boston, malie no long orations ; 
Solid men of Boston, go to bed at sundown, 
And you '11 never lose your way, like the loggerheads of London." 

The reader who may be curious to see the whole song can find it in the Lyra 
Urbanica, published years ago, in London, and which contains other good poetry of 
not quite so temperate a kind as that quoted above ; for, how good soever his advice 
to the "solid men of Boston," Captain Charles Morris, like some other theoretical 
temperance men whom we know, preferred the 

'' bright liquid, from its mountain mother 

Born fresh, the joy of the time-hallowed vine," 

"The limpid droppings of the virgin fount." 

He was an associate of the then Prince of Wales, and water was in not much demand 
at Carlton House. As a specimen of the soldier poet's notions on the subject of 
temperance, take the following verses from his True Philosophy. They ought to be 



69-4 SOLID MEN OF BOSTON. 

as oflFensive to the hundred millions of voters (we are not sure that we have got the right 
number, but it don't matter much, as it is not a great deal further from the truth 
than tlie statements " thereanent " in the Senate during the debates on the liquor- 
bill) who signed the great petition, as the rhyme they sing : 

" Don't you see, as we reel, the world reels up and down ? 
She rolls in her fluid, and we in our own ; 
Thus going together, we still keep our ground, 
And to-morrow, thank Fortune, are sure to come round. 

'• Then, as to the matter that makes up this ball. 
We 're all spirit, with us 't is no matter at all ; 
If 't is LIFE, keep it up ; and if dust, as they tell, 
Why, before it flies off, let us sprinkle it well. 

" Some say that by water or fire it steers. 
Talk of atoms and essences, orbits and spheres ; 
But, let Newton, Descartes, and Ptolemy doze. 
As we push round our bottles the way the world goes. 

" Then, on subjects where fools are as wise as the sage, 
Wlien we 've one we can fathom, why should we engage * 
Since we cannot clear it, why puzzle om- souls ? 
Let Time clear the riddle, while we clear the bowls." 

Not exactly moral, according to the canons of any age, but very pleasant, for all 
that, or rather because of that. It is a shocking thing to reflect upon, that vicious 
matters should be so pleasant, or sinful ones so welcome — we condemn both. But 
this is another digression, pardonable, however, because made for the benefit of our 
temperance friends, who ai'e entitled to all that deference which success is sure 
to bring. Who would not cast his mite of incense upon the altar of moral reform ? 

Jlr. Webster is not the only great man by whom the " solid men of Boston " was 
quoted. Burke, after he had ratted, and in allusion to his quondam friend's talking 
and drinking habits, quoted these lines against Sheridan, in the House of Commons : 

" Solid men of Boston, banish strong potations ; 
Solid men of Boston, make no long orations." 

For one second the laugh was against Sheridan ; but he jumped up, and quoted 
against Burke two other lines from the song : 

" He went to Daddy Jenky, by Trimmer Ilal attended ; 
Good lack ! in such company, how his morals must be mended ! " 

Daddy Jenky was Charles Jenkinson, to whom Pitt had been on a visit when the 
affair making the burden of the song took place. He was chief of •' the king's 
friends," and supposed to be the person who gave the finishing touch to political rats. 
Bui'ke was preparing to receive the handsome reward for which he had left his party 
and friends, and therefore Sheridan's hit told. One is reminded of the scene at 
Ashby-de-la-Zouche. "Thou canst not mend that shot, Locksley," said Prince 
John, when Hubert had sent his arrow right into the very centre of the target. " I 
will notch his shaft for him, however," said Locksley; and so he did, sending his own 
arrow so truly upon that of his rival as to shiver it to pieces, and destroy the merit 
of his shooting. Burke was Hubert ; Sheridan was Locksley. 



THE PATROL AND CONDUCT 

OF THE BRITISH SOLDIERS IN BOSTON, 1775-6. 



As the Order of the Patrol of the British Troops in Boston affords a conception 
of the condition of a besieged city when garrisoned by a standing army, we here 
present it, and quote the whole record as it stands in Waller's Orderly Book, 1775, 
30th Dec. 

Head-quarters, Boston. Parole, Guilford ; C. Sign, Kingston. Gcn'l officer for 

to-morrow. Grant. Field officer for lines. Major Sill. Day, Major Mitchell. 
Major Brigade, Brown. 
Adj't Qr. Mr. and Surgeon 10th Regiment. 

The Districts are as follows, appointed to each Corps. The commanding officer 
will accordingly inspect them, taking care to prevent all irregularities, put a stop 
to Dram Shops, and to make a return of all persons' names that have licenses to 
sell spirituous liquors, mentioning by whom signed. The officers of the Piquet 
will leave directions from their respective commanding officers, for visiting and 
patrolling within the extent of their district, taking two men with them from the 
regimental guard to attend them. 

The Soldiers' Wives are not to lodge out of their respective Districts. The 
Patroles of the 10th Reg't to visit the right hand of Orange Street, from the new 
works to the Neck ; those of the 22d Reg't from Allen's Warf, near Lieut. Col. 
Campbell's quarters, on the left side of Orange Street, to the Neck, and all the 
lanes leading to ye Water ; those of the 63d Reg. are to visit from wliero the Hay- 
market stood, up Pleasant Street, and all lying between this and IloUis Street ; 
those of the 35th Reg., all that part of the town that lays between Hollis Street 
and Frog Lane, including the quarters where Lt. Col. Carr lives ; those of the 
40th Reg. are to visit Newbury Street, Frog Lane and Water Lane, and all the 
AUeys laying between these streets and the Common. The Grenadiers are to 
visit all the lanes laying between Water Street and Bromfield's Lane, and run- 
ning between these and the Common — also Common Street ; those of the 49th 
to visit Beacon Street, School Street, part of Cornhill, Queen Street, and Tramont 
Street ; those of the 45th to visit Cambridge Street, from Shardon's Lane, South- 
wark Court, Hanover Street to the Mill Bridge, and all the Lanes from that street 
to the Mill Pond, north of Coal Lane — also Wing's Lane and Union Street ; those 
of the 17th to visit Coal Lane, Sudbury Street, Tramond Street as far as Earl 
Peircy's, and all the lanes between Cambridge Street and the Mill Pond as far as 
Shardon's Lane ; those of the 4th to visit Cambridge Street from Shardon's Lane 
to the westward, with all the lanes leading from thence to Beacon Hill — also 
Staniford Street ; those of the Grenadiers quartered in West Boston Meeting 



696 PATROL AND CONDUCT 

House, to visit Chamber Street, Lynd Street, Green Lane, and all the lanes 
leading from thence to the Mill Pond ; those of the 47th to visit their own 
quarters ; those of the six companies of Light Infantry to visit Leverett Street 
and all the lanes in the neighbourhood of Barton's Point ; those of the 43d 
to visit Back Street as far as Prince's Street, Middle Street from that to the 
Middle Bridge — likewise Ann Street and Fish Street as far to the northward 
as Sun Court, with all the Lanes from Back Street to ]\Iiddle Street, from Middle 
Street to Fore Street and Ann Street, and from these to the Water ; 1st British 
Marines to visit Prince's Street, from the corner of Back Street to Charles- 
town Ferry — likewise INIiddle Street to Winnisimot Ferry, and all the streets 
and lanes lying between them ; 2d British INIarines to visit Fish Street, Ship Street 
and Lynn Street, to Charlestown Ferry, with all the lanes from these to the 
Water — also all the Streets and Lanes between Sun Court and Winnisimot 
Ferry, leading from Fish Street and Ship Street to INIiddle Street ; those of the 
44th to visit Kuig's Street, part of Cornhill, from the Town House to Milk Street 
as far as Oliver's Dock, with all the streets and lanes between that and King 
Street — also that part of Cornhill from the Town House to the Theatre, and all 
the Lanes between that and King Street ; those of the 38th Reg. to visit fi-om 
their Barracks to Oliver's Dock, Fort Hill Lane, part of Milk Street, the Rope 
Walk, Green's Lane, all the cross Lanes within that District ; those of the 23d 
Reg. to visit Cow Lane, Long Lane, part of Milk Street, Bishop's Alley, and the 
Lanes from thence to Marlboro Street, and jiart of Summer Street, with the lanes 
from Cow Lane to the Water ; those of the G5th Reg. to visit part of Summer 
Street, Flounder Lane, part of Belcher's Lane and South Street to Windmill 
Point, with all the Lanes and Wharfs within that District ; those of the 5th Reg- 
iment to visit part of South Street, part of Summer Street, Blind Lane, Short 
Street, and all the Lanes leading to the Water, between Short Street and South 
Street ; those of the 52d to visit Achmouty's Lane from Short Street to Liberty 
Tree, and all the lanes leading to the Water ; those of the Light Lifantry to 
visit part of Orange Street from Allen's Wharf, with the Lanes leading from 
thence to the Water — also Newbury Street, Summer Street as far as the New 
South ]\Ieetmg-house, Blind Lane, and Pond St. 

The paymasters of Regiments to give to Captain McKenzie a List of their 
respective Drafts received from the 18 and 59 Regiments, that an order may be 
given by the Commander in Chief for the payment of their Bounty Money. The 
quarter master of Corps to call on the Dep. Q. Master Gen., where they will 
receive an order for 100 pairs of Croopcrs for their respective corps, for which 
they will give receipts and be answerable. Then follows Detail fur Guard, etc. 

Notwithstanding the regulars were strictly forbidden to destroy houses, fences 
or trees, dui-ing the siege, they demolished the steeple of Rev. Dr. Howard's 
Church, suspecting that it had been used as a signal staff; converted the edifice 
into a barrack, demolishing the pews ; the Old South was used as a riding-school ; 
Dr. Stillman's Church was converted into a hospital ; the Old North was demol- 
ished for fuel, " although there were then large quantities of coal and wood in 
the town," and Brattle-street Church was used as a barrack. The regulars com- 
menced destroying the fences around Hancock's mansion ; but Gage prevented it, 



OF BRITISH SOLDIERS. 



69T 



on the complaint of the selectmen. But their direst vengeance was ao-ainst Lib- 
erty Tree, when one of the regulars, in attempting to dismantle its branches, fell 
on the pavements, and was instantly killed. Dr. Pembertoa relates that the 
enterprise of destroying Liberty Tree was under the direction of Job Williams, 
a tory refugee from the country. 

Gov. Gage, who was friendly to Howard, relates : " I distinctly remember a 
little circumstance which will evidence his manner. He and I were walking, 
and stopped to watch some young men screwing hay for the troops in Boston. 
We saw they were about putting some stones into the bundles to increase their 
weight. It was rather a merry than a serious fraud, for they were not to be ben- 
efited. His mild queries soon led them to question the right and abandon the 
design, and I doubt whether it was ever done in that neighborhood afterward." 



Head-quarters, Boston, 17th Nov., 1775. 
Many of His Majesty's loyal American subjects, residing in Boston, with their 
adherents, having offered their service for the defence of the place, the Com- 
mander in Chief has ordered them to be armed and formed into three companies, 
under the command of the Hon. Brig. Gen. Ruggles, to be called the Loyal 
American Associators. They will be distinguished by a white sash around the 
left arm. Hon. Timothy Ruggles, Commandant. 



1st Company. 



Abijah Willard, Captain. 
Thomas Beaman, First Lieut. 
George Leonard, Do. 
Thomas Danforth, Second Lieut. 
Samuel Payne, Do. 

James Putnam, Jr., Do. 



2d Company. 



3d Company. 



James Putnam, Captain. 

John Sargent, First Lieut. 

Daniel Oliver, Do. 

Joshua Dummer Rogers, Second Lieut. 

John Ruggles, Do. 

Stephen Jones, Do. 

Francis Green, Captain. 
Ebenezer Spooner, First Lieut. 
Josiah Jones, Do. 

Abraham Savage, Second Lieut. 
William Chandler, Do. 
Nathaniel Colpin, Do. 

59 



HON. THEODORE LYMAN. 

The following more extended memoir of the philanthropic Theodore Lyman, 
principally prepared by a gentleman of great literary and political eminence, 
who was his intimate friend, was received too late for insertion in the proper 
place : 

Gen. Theodore Lyman was born on the 22d February, 1792. His father was 
Theodore Lyman, a distinguished merchant of Boston. The celebrated Rev. 
Joseph S. Buckminster, a relative of the family by marriage, was his private 
teacher, at Waltham. It was at this period that Mr. Buckminster addressed a 
poetical invitation to William S. Shaw, a literary friend, of Boston, to visit him 
at the Lyman country-seat, famous for its pastures, cataracts, and fish-ponds, 
besides the sister deities of the place. We extract a passage : 

" Come, and with loitering steps the walk we '11 rove, 
And chat discursive on the themes we love ; 
Recall, with memory sweet, those scenes of yore, 
Which oft in Harvard's walls we 've acted o'er, 
Where first we learnt in friendship to unite, 
And linked the chain, unbroken yet and bright ; 
Where judgment ripened, where attachment grew, 
And where we learnt to love whom best we knew. 
^ Here art with wealth conspires the grounds to grace, 

And traces lovelier lines on nature's face. 
Enter and gaze where living graces lurk. 
And ivaste an hour with nature's fairer work.'" 

Young Lyman entered Phillips' Exeter Academy in 1804, and was gradu- 
ated at Harvard College in 1810. He made a visit to Europe in 1814, and was 
at Paris while it was in the occupation of the allied powers. The result of his 
observations was published in a small volume, entitled " A Few Weeks at Paris." 
On his return to America, he resumed the study of the law, to which he had 
given his attention, rather as the completion of a liberal education, than with any 
intention to engage in the practice. His health having foiled him, he was 
advised, with a view to its restoration, to make another visit to Europe. After 
passing some time with his uncle, the late Samuel Williams, Esq., a banker of 
eminence in London, he crossed to the continent, and joined his friend Mr. 
Edward Everett, then residing at Gottingen. Mr. Lyman employed a few 
weeks in a tour through Northern Germany, exploring with great interest the 
scenes of the recent important military events. In the autumn of 1817 he 
returned to Gottingen, and proceeded with Mr. Everett to Paris. About 
eighteen months were passed by these gentlemen together in the south and 
east of Europe. An outline of their tour is given in our article on Mr. Everett. 

On his return to America, in the autumn of 1819, Mr. Lyman began to take 
an interest in public life. He was successively an efficient member of both 



THEODORE LYMAN. 699 

branches of the Legislature. In 1820 he delivered the municipal oration on the 
4th of July. In the same year he published an octavo volume upon the statis- 
tics of Italy, containing the result of his inquiries and observations in that coun- 
try in the winter of 1819-20. Gen. Lyman had a taste for military afiliirs, and 
took an active interest in the volunteer militia of the commonwealth. He was 
an aid-de-camp of Gov. Brooks, an officer of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery 
Company, and a brigadier-general in the first division. The discipline of the 
brigade under his command was greatly improved while he remained in office. 
He was chosen major-general, but declined the appointment. In 182G he pub- 
lished a History of the Diplomacy of the United States, in one volume, 8vo., of 
which a second edition, enlarged to two volumes, appeared in 1828. This is a 
work of considerable research, and of ability as a work of reference. 

In 1834 and 1835 Gen. Lyman was mayor of the city of Boston. During his 
administration events occurred requiring no ordinary exercise of firmness and 
prudence. The peace of the city was disturbed by the disgraceful abolition riots, 
and the burning of the Ursuline Convent in Charlestown produced an excitement 
of a very dangerous character in the neighboring metropolis. The vigilance and 
discretion of Gen. Lyman were equal to the crisis. 

From the time of his retirement from the mayoralty, Gen. Lyman withdrew 
from public life. He had married, in 1820, Mary Elizabeth Henderson, of New 
York, and had passed his summers in the country, — first at the country-seat of 
Gov. Gore, at Waltham, of which he became the proprietor, and afterwards at 
Brookline, on the estate formerly of the Hon. Jonathan Mason. Here Gen. 
Lyman built a beautiful villa, and bestowed a good deal of attention upon hia 
garden and farm. He became an active member of the Horticultural Society, to 
which, at his decease, he made the liberal bequest of ten thousand dollars. 

After his retirement from public life. Gen. Lyman interested himself much in 
the public charities of Boston, and gave his time and attention to subjects con- 
nected with the moral improvement of the suffering classes of the community. 
He was a trustee and a liberal benefactor of the Farm School, to which, at his 
decease, he bequeathed ten thousand dollars. He presided over the Prison Dis- 
cipline Society from 1847 until his decease, and Avas an efficient friend of most 
of the public benevolent institutions. His great work was the foundation of the 
State Reform School, at Westboro. He entertained a very decided opinion 
of the necessity of connecting the administration of justice with measures of 
reform. Merely to punish, especially in the case of juvenile delinquents, was, 
in his judgment, alike cruel and impolitic. Toward the endowment of the insti- 
tution just named Gen. Lyman during his lifetime made a secret donation of 
twenty-two thousand dollars, to which, by his will, the munificent sum of fifty 
thousand dollars was added. His name will descend to posterity as the father 
of this admirable institution. 

Gen. Lyman was fond of books, and cultivated a taste for several branches of 
literary inquiry. He collected a very valuable library, with the contents of 
which he was well acquainted. "When the Boston Athenteum was removed to 
Pearl-street, he took the lead in its arrangement and decoration. He was pros- 
perous in his circumstances, having, by judicious management, increased a large 
inheritance. That he understood the true use of money, as a great means of 



700 PETER FANEUIL AND THE CRADLE OF LIBERTY. 

doing good, is sufficiently apparent from the following sketch. Of a thousand 
acts of liberality, known only to himself and their objects, the record is preserved 
on high. His hand was never closed on any meritorious application. 

Gon. Lyman survived his highly-accomplished wife and a daughter of great 
promise. In 1848 he went fur a third time to Europe, with his only son, who, 
with a daughter, married to R. G. Shaw, Jr., of Boston, are left to deplore his 
premature loss. Shortly after his return to the United States, he died at his res- 
idence in Brooklinc, the 17th July, 1849. He was a person of highly-polished 
manners, great evenness of temper, exemplary in all the relations, and exact in 
all the duties, of life. His friends and the community confidently anticipated 
from him a continued career of steadily growing usefulness, and his death was 
justly regarded as a public calamity. 



[From the Boston Transcript. | 

PETER FANEUIL AND THE CRADLE OF LIBERTY. 

One may as successfully search for that identical peck of pickled peppers that 
Peter Piper picked, as for the original hall that Peter Faneuil built. Like 
Rachel's first-born, it is not. After all the reparations, and changes, and hard 
hammerino-s, she has undergone, we may as well search within the walls of Old 
Ironsides for those very ribs of live oak which, some fifty years ago, were launched 
in the body of the frigate Constitution. 

In the olden time, the market-men, like the mourners, went " about the 
streets." The inhabitants were served at their doors. As early as 1634, Gov. 
Wiuthrop, in his journal, speaks of a market which was kept in Boston, " on 
Thursday, the fifth day of the week." This weekly market on the fifth day is 
mentioned by Douglass as of 1G39. (Vol. i. page 434.) This, I think, refers only 
to a gathering of sellers and buyers at one spot, and not to any " visible temple " 
for storage and shelter. Citizens differed as to the best method of getting their 
provant. Some preferred the old mode, as it was supposed to save time ; others 
were in favor of having a common point, with a covered building. Parties were 
formed ; the citizens waxed wroth, and quarrelled about their meat like angry 
do"-s. Those Avho were in favor of market-houses prevailed. Three were erected ; 
one at the Old North Square, one where Faneuil Hall now stands, and one near 
Liberty Tree. People were no longer supplied at their houses. 

It seems very strange that this sensible arrangement should have led to violent 
outrage. The malecontents assembled together in the night, " disguised like 
clergymen," — the devil, sometimes, assumes this exterior,— and " totally demol- 
ished the centre market-house." This occurred about the year 173G-7, or about 
the time of Andrew Faneuil's death. Such is the account of good old Thomaa 
Pemberton. (M. H. C. iii. 255.) 

The popular sentiment prevented the reconstruction of the centre market- 
house, till, in 1740, July 14, a town-meeting was held to consider a petition for 



PETER FANEUIL AND THE CRADLE OF LIBERTY. 701 

this object, from Thomas Palmer and three hundred and forty others. At this 
meeting, it was stated that Peter Faneuil had offered, at his own cost, to build 
a market-house on the town's land, in Dock-square, for the use of the town 
if the citizens would legally empower him so to do, place the same under proper 
regulations, and maintain it for that use. 

An impression has somewhat extensively prevailed that Mr. Faneuil's proposal 
was not courteously received by his fellow-citizens, and that a majority of seven 
only were in favor of it. 

On the contrary, INIr. Faneuil's proposal was received with the most ample 
demonstrations of grateful respect. There were two questions before the meet- 
ing : First, shall a vote of thanks be passed to Peter Faneuil for his liberal offer ? 
Secondly, shall we give up the itinerant system, and have a market-house on ar,y 
conditions ? Upon the first question, there was but one mind ; on the second, 
there were two. A vote of thanks to Mr. Faneuil was instantly passed, without 
a dissentient. But the second question was the vexed question revived, and 
excited the passions of the people. Of seven hundred and twenty-seven persons 
present, three hundred and sixty-seven only voted in favor of granting the petition 
of Palmer and others, giving a majority of seven only. 

Accordingly, the work was commenced ; and it was completed Sept. 10, 1742, 
" on which day," says Dr. Snow, " Mr. Samuel Ruggles, who was employed in 
building the market-house, waited on the selectmen, by order of P. Faneuil, Esq., 
and delivered them the key of said house." 

Peter was a magnificent fellow. An antiquarian friend, to whom the foncy 
has lineally descended through a line of highly respectable antiquarian ances- 
tors, informs me that his father handed down to him a tradition which is cer- 
tainly plausible. It runs thus : While the market-house was in progress, — 
probably on paper, — it was suggested to Peter that, with very little additional 
expense, a splendid town-hall might be constructed over it. Peter's heart was 
quite as roomy as the market-house and town-hall together, and he cheerfully 
embraced the suggestion. The tradition goes a little further. When the cost 
was summed up, Peter scolded — a little. Very likely. Mr. Peter Faneuil was 
not an exception, I presume, to the common rule. 

The keys, as I have stated, were presented to the town Sept. 10, 1742, with 
all that courtesy, doubtless, for which he was remarkable. Peter's relatives and 
connections are somewhat numerous. The descendants of Benjamin, his brother, 
are scattered over the country. It will be equally grateful to them and honora- 
ble to our forefathers, to exhibit a portion of the record. 

Sept. 13, 1742, at a meeting, in the new hall, a vote of thanks was moved by 
the Hon. John Jeffi-ies, uncle of the late Dr. John Jeffries. In this vote, it is 
stated that, whereas Peter Faneuil has, " at a very great expense, erected a noble 
structui-e, far exceeding his first proposal, inasmuch as it contains not only a 
large and sufficient accommodation for a market-place, but a spacious and most 
beautiful town-hall over it, and several other convenient rooms which may prove 
very beneficial to the town for offices or otherwise : as the said building being 
now finished, he has delivered possession thereof to the selectmen for the use of 
the town : it is therefore voted that the town do, with the utmost gratitude, 
receive and accept this most generous and noble benefaction, for the use and 

59* 



702 PETER FANEUIL AND THE CRADLE OF LIBERTY. 

intentions it is designed for ; and do appoint the Hon. Thomas Gushing, Esquire, 
the moderator of this meeting, the Hon. Adam Winthrop, Edward Hutchinson, 
Ezekiel Lewis, and Samuel Waldo, Esquires, Thomas Hutchinson, Esquire, the 
Belectmen and representatives of the town of Boston, the Hon. Jacob Wendell, 
James Bowdoin, Esq., Andrew Oliver, Esq., Captain Nathaniel Cunningham, 
Peter Chardon, Esq., and Mr. Charles Apthorp, to wait upon Peter Faneuil, Esq., 
and in the name of the town to render him their most hearty thanks for so boun- 
tiful a gift, with their prayers that this and other expressions of his bounty and 
jharity may be abundantly recompensed with the Divine blessing." 

In addition to this vote, the citizens passed another, that the hall should be 
called Faneuil Hall, forever, and that the portrait of Faneuil should be painted 
at full length and placed therein. On the 14th of March, 1744, a vote was 
passed " to purchase the Faneuil arms, carved and gilt by Moses Deshon, to be 
fixed in the hall." 

Pcmberton says : " Previous to the Revolution, the portraits of Mr. Faneuil, 
Gen. Conway and Col. Barre, were procured by the town, and hung up in the 
hall. It is supposed they were carried off by the British." The portrait of 
Faneuil at present in the hall was painted by Henry Sargent, from the portrait 
presented to the Massachusetts Historical Society by Miss Jones, a grandchild 
of Peter's sister, Mary Ann. 

The original building was but half the width of the present, and but two stories 
high. The hall could contain but one thousand persons. In the memorable fire 
of Tuesday, Jan. 13, 1761, Faneuil Hall was destroyed, and nothing left standing 
but the walls. On the 23d of the following March, the town voted to rebuild, 
and the state authorized a lottery to meet the expense. There were several 
classes. A ticket of the seventh class lies before me, bearing date March, 1767, 
with the spacious autograph of John Hancock at the bottom. 

The building retained its primitive proportions tiU 1806, when, the occasions 
of the public requiring its enlargement, its width was increased from forty to 
eighty feet, and a third story added. A very simple rule may be furnished for 
those who would compare the size of the present building Avith that of the gen- 
uine Peter Faneuil Hall. Take a north-east view of the hall. There are seven 
windows before you, in each story. Run a perpendicular line from the ground 
through the centre of the middle window to the top of the belt, at the bottom of 
the third story ; carry a straight line from that point nearly to the top of the 
second window, on the right, in the third story. That point is the apex of the 
old pediment. From that point, draw the corresponding roof line down to the 
belt at the corner, and you have a profile of tlie ancient structure, all of Avhich is 
well exhibited by Dr. Snow on the plan in his history of Boston. 

Small as the original structure may appear, when compared with the present, 
it was a magnificent donation for the times. It may well be considered a munif- 
icent gift, from a single individual, in 1742, when we consider that its repairs, in 
1761, were accomplished by the aid of the commonwealth, and the creation of a 
lottery which continued to curse the community for several years. 

A grasshopper was not the crest of Peter Faneuil's arms. I formerly supposed 
it was ; for a gilded grasshopper, as half the world knows, is the vane upon the 
cupola of Faneuil Hall, — and a gilded grasshopper, as many of us well remem- 



PETER FANEUIL AND THE CRADLE OF LIBERTY. 703 

ber, whirled about, of yore, upon the little spire that rose above the summer-house 
appurtenant to the mansion where Peter Faneuil lived and died. That house 
was built and occupied by his uncle Andrew ; and he had some seven acres for 
his garden thereabouts. It was upon the westerly side of old Treamounl-street, 
and became the residence of the late William Phillips, whose political relations 
to the people of Massachusetts, as their lieutenant-governor, could not preserve 
him from the sobriquet of Billy. 

I thought it not unlikely that Peter's crest was a grasshopper, and that on 
that account he had become partial to this emblem. But I am duly certifieKi that 
it was not so. The selection of a grasshopper, for a vane, was made in imitation 
of their example who placed the very same thing upon the pinnacle of the Royal 
Exchange in London. 

Peter Faneuil was then in all his glory. How readily, by the power of imag 
ination, I raise him from ttie dead, bolt upright, with his over portly form, anC 
features full of bonhommie ; and speaking volumes about those five pipes of amber- 
colored Madeira, such as his friend Delancey had ; and that best book of all 
sorts of cookery, of a largo character, for the maid's reading ! There he is, at 
the door of his English chariot, " handsome, but nothing gaudy," with his arms 
thereon, and his English coachman, and his English horses, and that " straight 
negro lad " perched behind. I see him now, helping in Miss Mary Anne, his 
youngest maiden sister ; and, as he ascends the steps, wrapping his cloak around 
him, trimmed with that identical " scarlet cloth of the very best quality.^'' 

The vanity of man's anticipations, the occasional suddenness of his summons 
away, seldom find a more graphic illustration than in the case of this noble- 
hearted and most hospitable gentleman. When he received the grateful saluta- 
tions of the magnates of the town, who came to thank him for his munificence, 
what could have been so little in his thoughts, or in theirs, as the idea that he 
was so soon to die ! 

In about five years — five short, luxurious years — after the death of Andrew 
Faneuil, Peter, his favorite nephew, was committed to the ground, March 10, 
1742, Old Style. The event, from its suddenness, and from the amiable and 
benevolent character of the individual, produced a deep sensation in the village, 
for Boston was nothing but a seashore village then. In 1728, some foui-teeu 
years before, we learn from Douglass, i. 531, that there were but three thousand 
ratable polls on the peninsula. This event was unexpected by the living, and 
had been equally unexpected by the dead. Death came to Peter like a thief in 
the stilly night. He had not looked for this unwelcome visiter. He had made 
no will. By this event, Benjamin was restored to his birthright, and old Andrew 
is supposed to have turned over indignantly in his coffin. 

The remains of this noble-spirited descendant of the Huguenots of Rochelle 
were deposited in the Faneuil tomb, in the westerly corner of the Granary 
Ground. This tomb is of dark freestone, with a freestone slab. Upon the east- 
erly end of the tomb there is a tablet of slate, upon which are sculptured, with 
manifest care and skill, the family arms ; while upon the freestone slab are 
inscribed, at the top, M. M., — memento mori, of course ; and, at the bottom of 
the slab, — a cruel apology for the old Huguenot patronymic, — " Peter Fcnel. 
1742," and nothing more. 



704 PETER FANEUIL AND THE CRADLE OF LIBERTY, 

The explanation which arises in my mind, of this striking inconsistency, is 
this : I believe this tomb, whose aspect is simple, solid and antique, to have 
been built by Andrew Faneuil, who was a wealthy merchant here as early as 
1709 ; and I think it quite certain that the lady whom he man-ied in Holland, 
and whose beauty is traditional among her descendants, made the great exchange 
— beauty for ashes — in this very sepulchre . In this tomb Andrew was buried 
by Peter, Feb. 20, 1737, and Peter by his brother Benjamin, ^larch 10, 1742, 
Old Style ; and here Benjamin himself was laid, after an interval of two-and- 
forty years, where there is neither work, nor device, nor will, nor codicil. 

The arms of Peter Faneuil, — I have them before me at this moment on his 
massive silver pepper-pot, — he found a place for them on many of his posses- 
sions, tliough I cannot say if on all the articles which came into the possession 
of (jiillam Phillips, — were a field argent — no chevron — a large heart, truly a 
suitable emblem, in the centre, gules — seven stars equidistant from each other, 
and from the margin of the escutcheon, extending from the sinister chief to the 
dexter base — in the sinister base a cross moulin, within an annulet — no scroll — 
no supporters. 

The arms upon the tomb, though generally like these, and like the arms on 
other articles once Peter's and still extant, differ in some important particulars, 
and seem to have been quartered with those of another family, as the arms of 
Andrew, being a collateral, might have been. A helmet, beneath the martlet, 
especially, is wholly different from Peter's crest. Such, precisely, are the arms 
on the seal of wax upon Andrew's will, in the Registry. Hence I infer that 
Uncle Andrew built this ancient sepulchre. Arms, in days of old, and still, 
where a titled nobility exists, are deemed, for the popular eye, sufficient evidence 
of ownership, without a name. So thought Uncle Andrew, and he left the free- 
stone tal)let without any inscription. 

Some five years after the testator's burial, the tomb was again opened, to let 
m the residuary legatee. Peter's was a grand funeral. The Evening Post of 
March 3, 1742-3, foretold that it would be such ; but the papers, which doubt- 
less gave an account of it, are lost. The files are imperfect of all those primitive 
journals. At first, and for years, the resting-place of Peter's remains was well 
enough known. But the rust of time began to gather upon men's memories. 
The Faneuil arms ere long became unintelligible to such as strolled among the 
tombs. That ^'■handsome chariot, but notliing gaudy,^^ with Peter's armorial 
bearings upon its panels, no longer rolled along Treamount and Queen streets, 
and Cornhill, and drew up, of a Sabbath morning, before Trinity Church, that 
Brother Peter and the ladies might sit upon their cushions, in No. 40, while 
Brother Addington Davenport gave them a sermon upon the apostolical succession. 
The good people had, therefore, forgotten all about the Faneuil arms, and before 
a great many years had rolled away the inquiry naturally arose, in popular phra- 
seology, " Whereabouts was it that Peter Faneuil was buried? " 

Some worthy old citizen, — God bless him ! — who knew rather more of this 
matter than his neighbors, and was well aware that the arms would be but a 
dead letter to posterity, resolved to serve the public, and remedy the defect. Up 
he goes into the Granary Ground, in the very spirit of Old Mortality, and, with 
all hia orthography in his ear, inscribes P. Funel upon the tablet ! 

A Sexton of tuk Old School. 



DANIEL WEBSTER. '' 705 



DANIEL WEBSTER AND HIS WORKS. 

There is probal:)ly no name, since those of Washington and Franklin, more 
ineffaceabiy interwrought into the history of our country than that of Daniel 

Webster. However men may differ from him on particular questions, on 

tariffs or currency, on banks or revenues, — all men agree that no one has lifted 
the reputation of the country so high for great thoughts and classic eloquence. 
He has brought to the service of the country the most stupendous intellect it has 
ever produced. And when the time comes — which we hope may yet be distant 
— for the termination of his earthly career, we believe it will be granted by foes, 
as well as claimed by friends, that the very strongest and greatest man of the 
age will have departed from the world. Ilis name will be a tower of strength, to 
which every American will point with a just pride, in argument for American 
intellect. When political animosity shall have died away, and rust gathered on 
the sword of party vindictiveness, we believe that all Americans, north and 
south, east and west, young and old, Whigs and Democrats, or of whatever faith 
or creed, will agree in installing Webster in the very highest intellectual seat in 
•America. 

For real mental muscle, we think Mr. Webster must be regarded as the great- 
est living man. Many may transcend him in particular departments ; none, we 
think, can equal him in all. Humboldt may grasp a more minute and extensive 
geographical or scientific knowledge ; Wellington, or Scott, excel him in mili- 
tary skill ; Kossuth, in versatility; Clay, in impassioned and spontaneous dec- 
lamation ; and Calhoun, when living, may have wielded a keener metaphysical 
scimetar. And so, perhaps, we might run through the catalogue of the most 
illustrious men of the age ; but in a scale of mental measurement, where the 
intellect stands up in full, perfect, proportioned and developed stature, Webster 
towers above any other man who now treads the globe. 

It has been the good fortune of Mr. Webster, more than of most statesmen, to 
record the evidence of his transcendent powers. His speeches, in their pon- 
derous massiveness, are of the classics of the language. As such, they will ever 
remain. They are as durable as the constitution, as the country, as the lan- 
guage. They are immortal. 

In hearing Webster, we are impressed with the conviction that he is not 
aroused to the fulness of his power. There seems always behind unmeasured 
capability. The plummet never touches the depths of his mind. They are 
beyond soundings. In his mightiest efforts, the hearer feels that if the occasion 
were however greater, there is a latent capacity in the orator to meet it ; that, 
if need should be, he could rise still higher, and pour out his resistless argument 
in compacted sentences of yet greater power. The colossal grandeiu- and 
supremacy of the great harmonious mind of Webster are bodied forth in a head 
of unequalled fulness and preponderance. It is a battery of thought, the symmetry 
of whoee external proportions makes it a model of the finest and most intellectual 
of the Caucasian race. Thorwaldsen, the Swedish sculptor, after passing ia 
review the heads of the most eminent men in Europe, and the long list of 



706 ' DANIEL WEBSTER. 

antiques, as he approached the marble semblance of Webster, instinctively bend- 
ing before it, pronounced it the grandest specimen he had ever seen. Nature 
has inscribed greatness upon him in her most imposing characters. Ilis erect 
and brawny form, his clarion voice, his large and lustrous eyes, and massive, 
overhanging brain, proclaim him one on whom 

" Every God did seem to set his seal, 
To give the world assurance of a man." 

It is extraordinary that Webster should have maintained his health and ability 
to think, speak and work, amidst such protracted and gigantic labors. Seventy- 
two years weigh heavily upon even those of the hardiest of our race who are 
permitted to reach that period, and whose labors may be most favorable to 
health and longevity. But when we reflect how much Mr. Webster has accom- 
plished, — a professional study and practice of itself sufficient to break down a 
sturdy constitution, — six volumes of the ablest speeches that ever glanced from 
human tongue, — a life of official toil, as legislator and Secretary of State, — the 
excitement of personal homage such as has been rarely tcndei-ed to mortal, — 
the vast concerns of his own private business, and the constant excogitation, the 
working of that mind, which, in its wear and tear, requires machinery of supe- 
rior texture and power, — and we are amazed that even his iron frame has not 
long since surrrendered to these crushing labors. Nevertheless, we see him at 
this day with a mind as unclouded and vigorous as ever, delivering the most 
splendid arguments before courts and juries, — speeches and classical addresses, 
as occasions occur, — conducting a most extensive private con'cspondence ; and, 
amidst these and other labors, carrying on the correspondence and business of 
the Federal Government, and triumphantly grappling with all the great national 
questions that arise. — New York Times, 

The recently published Works of Daniel Webster, edited by lion. Edward 
Everett, are an imperishable memorial of his powerful mind ; and the beautiful 
dedications prefixed to each volume evince the strength of his domestic and social 
affections. The first is dedicated to his nieces, Mrs. Alice Bridge Whipple and Mrs. 
Mary Ann Sanborn, the daughters of Ezekiel Webster, the brother of Daniel ; and 
this not only for the love Mr. Webster bears for them, but from the desire, as he 
expresses it, that his brother's name might be associated with his own so long 
as anytliing written or spoken by him should be regarded or read ; the second is 
dedicated to Isaac P. Davis, Esq., as "an affectionate and grateful acknowled<T- 
menfofwarm private friendship ; the third, to Caroline Le Roy A\'ebstcr, his 
wife, as a tril)ute of his affections, and some acknowledgment of her deep interest in 
the productions they contain ; the fourth, to Fletcher Webster, his son, " his only 
surviving child, and the object of his affections and hopes ; " the fifth, to J. W. 
Paige, Esq., as a grateful token of long friendship. The last we copy entire, to 
show the felicitous manner of these dedications : 

DEDICiTION OF THE SIXTH VOLUME. 

With the warmest paternal affection, mingled with deeply afflicted feelings, I dedicate this, the last 
volume of my Works, to the memory of my deceased children, 

Julia Webster Appleton, 

beloved in all the relations of Daughter, Wife, Mother, Sister, and Friend ; and 

Major Edward Webster, 

who died in Mexico, in the military service of the United States, wi|h unblemished honor and reputation, 

and who entered that service solely from a desire to be useful to his country, and do honor to the State 

in which he was born. 

" Go, »enlle Spirits, to your destined rest : 
While I, reverse.l ourNnture's kiiidher doom, 
Pour forth a Father's aorrow oo your tomb." 

Daniel Webster. 



MR. PALFREY IN CONGRESS. 707 



MR. PALFREY IN CONGRESS. 

As in the articles on Mr. Palfrey and Mr. Winthrop allusions are made to 
their political career, we extract from the autobiography of ]\Ir. Palfrey the fol- 
lowing passages, as an act of justice, and leave the public to judge the merits iif 
the case : 

" Complaint was made that, before giving my vote, I inquired of Mr. Win- 
throp how he intended to constitute the committees with reference to the ques- 
tions of slavery and war. It was represented as inconsistent and indecorous in 
me to take that step, inasmuch as, when called upon by the Liberty party, while 
a candidate for election as representative, to give pledges respecting my future 
action, I had declined to do so. 

" I cannot admit that there is any ground for such a censure, in either of its 
phases. When questions had been addressed to me, I had never dreamed of treating 
or of regarding that course as affrontive, or otherwise than as entirely respectful, 
on the part of the questioner. Any gentleman — such was and is my view — may 
properly ask questions, and any one, on his responsibility, may answer them, or 
decline to answer. As to which of these courses is preferable, different persons 
think differently, and the same persons think differently in respect to different 
occasions. The latter course had been adopted by me in respect to a communica- 
tion from a committee of the Liberty party ; it was perfectly right that it should 
be adopted by Mr. Winthrop, if he saw fit ; — by both of us, of coui-se, under the 
same condition ; namely, that our refusal became a fact to be taken into account 
by the questioner in determining his own further action. On the other hand, I 
have answered questions. When the committee of the Liberty party asked mo 
whether I should refuse to vote for a slaveholder for any office, I told them that 
I should not so refuse. I might add, though I do not care to lay any stress upon 
it, that the series of measures referred to in the questions addressed to me by the 
Liberty party was such, that, whenever canvassed in Congress, they would lead 
to much consideration and debate, to which the legislator should not preclude 
himself, by previous engagements, from giving a fair attention ; whereas my 
questions to Mr. Winthrop related to an act solely his own, to be done within a 
few days, and of which the outline, if not most of the details, had no doubt been 
fully resolved upon in his own mind. lie knew just as well, and as ii-revocably, 
on the 5th day of December, the principles, policy, and plan on which he should 
constitute the committees, as he knew on the 13th, when the names were read 
from the clerk's desk. 

" One of the Boston editors published that it was within his knowledge that 
my opposition to Mr. Winthrop was arranged between me and my friends before 
I left home. I met him soon after at Washington, and told him how clearly he 
was mistaken. But what good did that do 1 He could not have known hov/ I 
should proceed. No human being knew. I did not know myself. I had not 
spoken to any person of any intention of mine in respect to the choice of speaker, 
nor had any one given me advice, opinion, or (as far as I remember) so much aa 
hint, upon the subject. 



THE WILL OF DANIEL WEBSTER, 



THE WILL OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 

IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY GOD ! 

I, Daniel Webster, of Marshfield, in the County of Plymouth, and Commonwealth 

of Massachusetts, Esquire, being now confined to my house with a serious ilhiess, 

which, considering my time of life, is undoubtedly critical, but being, nevertheless, 

in the full possession of all my mental faculties, do make and publish this my last 

Will and Testament. 

I commit my soul into the hands of my heavenly Father, trusting in his infinite 
goodness and mercy. 

I direct that my mortal remains be buried in the family vault at Marshfield, where 
monuments are already erected to my deceased children and their mother. Two 
places are marked for other monuments, of exactly the same size and form. One of 
these, in proper time, is to be for me ; and perhaps I may leave an epitaph. The 
other is for Mrs. Webster. Her ancestors and all her kindred lie in a far-distant city. 
My hope is, that after many years she may come to my side, and join me and othera 
whom God hath given me. 

I wish to be buried without the least show or ostentation ; but in a manner respect- 
ful to my neighbors, whose kindness has contributed so much to the happiness of me 
and mine, and for whose prosperity I offer sincere prayers to God. 

Concerning my worldly estate, my Will must be anomalous and out of the common 
form, on account of the state of my aflairs. I have two large real estates. By mar- 
riage settlement, Mrs. Webster is entitled to a life estate in each ; and after her death, 
they belong to my heirs. On the Franklin estate, so far as I know, there is no incum- 
brance except Mrs. Webster's life estate. On Marshfield, Mr. Samuel Frothingham 
has an unpaid balance of a mortgage, now amounting to twenty-five hundred dollars. 
My great and leading wish is to preserve Marshfield, if I can, in the blood and name 
of my family. To this end, it must go in the first place to my son, Fletcher Webster, 
who is hereafter to be the immediate prop of my house, and the general representa- 
tive of my name and character. I have the fullest confidence in his affection and 
good sense, and that he will heartily concur in anything that appears to be for the 
best. 

I do not see, under present circumstances of him and his family, how I can now 
make a definite provision for the future, beyond his life. I propose, therefore, to put 
the property into the hands of Trustees, to be disposed of by them as exigences may 
require. 

My affectionate wife, who has been to me a soui-ce of so much happiness, must be 
tenderly provided for. Care must be taken that she has some reasonable income. I 
make this Will upon the faith of what has been said to me by friends of means which 
will be found to carry out my reasonable wishes. It is best that Mrs. Webster's life- 
interest in the two estates be purchased out. It must be seen what can be done with 
friends at Boston, and especially with the contributors to my life annuity. My son- 
in-law, Mr. Appleton, has most generously requested me to pay little regard to his 
interests or to those of his children ; but I must do something, and enough to mani- 
fest my warm love and attachment to him and them. The property best to be sp;ired 
for the purpose of buying out Mrs. Webster's life-interest under the marriage settle- 
ment is Franklin, which is very valuable property, and which may be sold, under 
prudent management, or mortgaged, for a considerable sum. 



THE WILL OF DANIEL WEBSTER. 

I have also a quantity of land in Illinois, at Peru, wliich ought to be immetliately 
seen after. Mr. Edward Curtis, and Mr. Blatchford, and Mr. Franklin Haven, know 
all about my large debts, and they have undertaken to see at once whether those can 
be provided for, so that these purposes may probably be carried into effect. 

With these explanations, I now make the following provisions, namely : 

Item. — I appoint my wife, Caroline Le Roy Webster, my son, Fletcher Webster, and 
R. M. Blatchford, Esquire, of New York, to be the Executors of this Will. I wish my 
said Executors, and also the Trustees liereinafter named, in all things relating to 
finance and pecuniary matters, to consult with ray valued friend, Franklin Haven ; 
and in all things respecting Marshfield, with Charles Henry Thomas, always an inti- 
mate friend, and one whom I love for his own sake and that of his family ; and in 
all things respecting Franklin, with that true man, John Taylor ; and I wish them to 
consult, in all matters of law, with my brethren and highly-esteemed friends, Charles 
P. Curtis and George T. Curtis. 

Item. — I give and devise to .James W. Paige and Franklin Haven, of Boston, and 
Edward Curtis, of New York, all my real estate in the towns of Marshfield in the 
State of Massachusetts, and Franklin, in the State of New Hampshire, being the two 
estates above-mentioned, to have and to hold the same to them and their heirs and 
assigns, forever, upon the following Trusts, namely : 

First. — To mortgage, sell or lease, so much thei-eof as may be necessary to pay to 
my wife, Caroline Le Roy Webster, the estimated value of her life interest, heretofore 
secured to her thereon by marriage settlement, as is above recited, if she shall elect 
to receive that valuation in place of the security with which those estates now stand 
charged. 

Secondly. — To pay to my said wife, from the rents and profits and income of the 
said two estates, the further sum of five hundred dollars per annum during her 
natural life. 

Thirdly. — To hold, manage and carry on the said two estates, or so much thereof 
as may not be sold for the purposes aforesaid, for the use of my son, Fletcher Web- 
ster, during his natural life ; and after his decease, to convey the same in fee to such 
of his male descendants as a majority of the said Trustees may elect, they acting 
therein with my son's concurrence, if circumstances admit of his expressing his 
wishes, otherwise acting upon their own discretion ; it being my desire that his son 
Ashburton Webster take one, and his son Daniel Webster, Jr., the other, of the said 
estates. 

Itkm. — I direct that my wife, Caroline Le Roy Webster, have, and I hereby give to 
her, the right during her life to reside in my mansion-house at Marshfield, when she 
wishes to do so, with ray son, in case he may reside there, or in his absence ; and this 
I do, not doubting my son's affection for her or for me, but because it is due to her 
that she should receive this right from her husband. 

Item. — I give and bequeath to the said James W. Paige, Franklin Haven and 
Edward Curtis, all the bool^, plate, pictures, statuary and furniture, and other per- 
sonal property, now in my mansion-house at INIarshfield, except such articles as are 
hereinafter otherwise disposed of, in trust to preserve the same in the mansion-house 
for the use of my son Fletcher Webster during his life, and after his decease to make 
over and deliver the same to the person who will then become "the owner of the 
estate of Marshfield ; " it being my desire and intention that they remain attached to 
the house while it is occupied by any of ray name and blood. 

Item. — I give and bequeath to my said wife all my furniture which she brought 



THE WILL OP DANIEL WEBSTER. 

with her on her marriage, aud the silver plate purchased of Mr. Rush, for her 
own use. 

Item. — I give, devise and bequeath, to my said Executors all my other real and 
personal estate, except such as is hereinafter described and otherwise disposed of, to be 
applied to the execution of the general purposes of this Will, and to be sold and disposed 
of, or held aud used, at Marshfield, as they and the said Trustees may find to be expe- 
dient. 

Item. — I give and bequeath to my son, Fletcher Webster, all my law-books, where- 
ever situated, for his own use. 

Item. — I give and bequeath to my son-in-law, Samuel A. Appleton, ray California 
watch and chain, for his own use. 

Itesi. — I give and bequeath to my grand-daughter, Caroline Le Roy Appleton, the 
portrait of myself by Healey, which now hangs in the south-east parlor at Marsh- 
field, for her own use. 

Item. — I give and bequeath to my grandson, Samuel A. Appleton, my gold snuff- 
box with the head of General Washington, all my fishing-tackle, and my Selden and 
Wilmot guns, for his own use. 

Item. — I give and bequeath to my grandson, Daniel Webster Appleton, my Wash- 
ington medals, for his own use. 

Item. — I give and bequeath to my grand-daughter, .Julia Webster Appleton, the 
clock presented to her grandmother by the late Hon. George Blake. 

Item. — I appoint Edward Everett, George Ticknor, Cornelius Conway Felton and 
George Ticknor Curtis, to be my literary executors ; and I direct my son, Fletcher Web- 
ster, to seal up all my letters, manuscripts and papers, and at a proper time to select 
those relating to ray personal history, and my professional and public life, which in his 
judgment should be placed at their disposal, and to transfer the same to them, to be 
used by them in such manner as they may think fit. They may receive valuable aid 
from my friend George J. Abbott, Esq., now of the State Department. 

Item. — My servant William Johnson is a free man. I bought his freedom not 
long ago for six hundred dollars. No demand is to be made upon him for any portion 
of this sum, but so long as is agreeable I hope he will remain with the family. 

Item. — INIorricha McCarty, Sarah Smith and Ann Bean, colored persons, now also 
and for a long time in my service, are all free. They are very well-dcserving, and 
•whoever comes after me must be kind to them. 

Item. — I request that my said Executors and Trustees be not required to give 
bonds for the performance of their respective duties under this Will. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set ray hand and seal at Marshfield, and 
have published and declared this to be my last Will and Testament, on the twenty- 
first day of October, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and fifty-two. 

(Signed) DANIEL WEBSTER. (Seal.) 

Signed, sealed, published and declared, by the said Testator, as and for his last 
Will and Testament, in the presence of us, who, at his request, and in his presence, 
and in the presence of each other, have set our names hereto as subscribing witnesses, 
the word " our " being erased in the third line from the bottom of the fifth page, 
before signing. 

(Signed) 

Geoege J. Abbott, ^ 
John Jeffries, 
Charles H. Thomas. 



MAYOR CHAPMAN'S WELCOME TO LORD ASHBURTON, 

AT FANEUIL HALL, AUGUST 27, 1842. 

Your Excellency : 

It is my privilege, sir, on tliis occasion, in common -with my associates in the city 
government, to represent the city of Boston, and in its behalf to speak the warm and 
hearty welcome with which you are greeted here. 

We welcome you, sir, as the representative of your country ; and not yours only, 
but in a near sense our own ; — for, so long as there is a tie to link a child to its 
parent, America will not forget that England is her mother. We partake in the 
honorable pride whicli must thrill your bosom at the recollection of her glorious his- 
tory ; and, though the past is common to us, we would yet pay, through you, a trib- 
ute of respect to the illustrious queen on whose friendly errand you have come. Long 
may she live to preside, like a peaceful star, over the friendly alliance which now 
unites our two countries. 

We welcome you, therefore, in an especial manner, on this occasion, as the fi-iend 
of peace. We acknowledge, with great joy, that through your instrumentality, in no 
small degree, the clouds of discord which lowered over two great nations have been 
happily dispersed, and that they who boast a common lineage and speak a common 
language shall henceforth know no rivalry but that of friends. 

We rejoice at this, sir, for the great benefits which both nations must receive. But 
we glory in it most for the principle which has been established, and for the noble 
example which it exhibits to the world. It shows that nations do not stoop, when they 
submit their differences to reason instead of passion. Yes, sir, you have helped to 
teach the glorious lesson that there are other and better guardians of a nation's honor 
than the sword ; and that, in the sight of man as well as God, there is a loftier dig- 
nity in a noble, magnanimous and Christian spirit, than in the proudest array of 
hostile armies or navies. 

And we welcome you personally, sir. AVe delight to know that your distinguished 
rank is the just reward of a long life of activity, intelligence, and virtue. And we 
pray that that old age may be serene and happy which has sprung with the alacrity 
of youth at the call of its country and in the cause of humanity. 

We offer to you, sir, the hospitalities of our city. We have not the custom of ten- 
dering what is called the freedom of the city, in a golden box ; but we proffer you 
that which, if I understand aright, you will prize far higher. In republican simplic- 
ity, we tender you the respect and gratitude of a free people. 

With these feelings, sir, permit me to present to you the citizens of Boston. And, 
fellow-citizens, permit me, in turn, to introduce to you the Right Honorable Lord 
Ashburton, the representative of England, the friend of peace, the man ennobled 
indeed by title, but far more ennobled as a benefactor of nations. 



EOLLS OP THE BOSTON BOYS, 

DRILLED AT FANEUIL HALL, FOR MARCHINQ IN THE PROCESSIONS OF THE WASH- 
INGTON BENEVOLENT SOCIETY, APRIL 30, 1813 AND 1814. 



The youths at these annual celebrations appeared in blue and white uniform, decorated 
with wreaths and garlands, marching five deep, each bearing, on his breast, Washington's 
Legacy. In the centre of this division of the procession was the Standard of the Rising 
Generation, painted by Col. Henry Sargent; as, alsx), were the banners, from which was 
suspended the gorget of Washington, presented to the society April 30, 1813, by Mrs. 
Martha Peters (late Custis), of Georgetown, D. C, through the medium of Hon. Josiah 
Quincy, and which was worn by AVashington at Braddock's defeat. The standard was borne 
by Master Albert F. Hall, supported by two aids — Masters Francis Jenks and Ignatius Sar- 
gent, Jr. In 1812, when the society was organized, there were one hundred and twelve boys 
drilled by Col. Henry Sargent. In the next two years they were drilled by Lemuel Blake, 
Esq., the bookseller. A portion only of these youths paraded more than once. 



Amory Jonathan. 
Andrews Henry. 
Andrews James T. 
Andrews John A. G 
Andrews James W. 
Allen Samuel. 
Abbot George W. 
Adams George W. 
Allen John H. 
Amory John. 
Austin Israel R. 
Ashton John. 
Amory Samuel Linzee. 
Augustine Ebenezer M. 
Augustine Joel. 
Bradlee Fletcher. 
Bass Henry. 
Bass John L5. 
Blanchard James 
Barrett George. 
Bond Joseph. 
Bullard Calvin. 
Bullard James. 
Baldwin Henry. 
Bridge Frederick William. 
Bridge Alfred H. 
Baxter Edwin. 
Bradford Thomas G. 
Belcher Edward. 
Brewer Stei)hen. 
Bowers Charles. 
Boyle James. 
Bowes John R. 
Bayley James. 
Bedford Samuel. 
Bulfinoh George S. 
Brewer William Charles. 
Blagge Charles. 
Blake Edward. 



Blake Samuel P. 
Bates Elihu. 
Brewer Thomas. 
Barrett Francis. 
Brown William. 
Barrett Charles M. 
Blake James. 
Brewer Charles. 
Booth John G. 
Burr Aaron. 
Barry Charles. 
Bradlee Samuel G. 
Baxter George A. 
Baxter Edwin. 
Barrett George. 
Blake Francis S. 
Baker Theodore. 
Baker Samuel. 
Baldwin Henry. 
Bond Joshua. 
Bellowcs John N. 
Bradlee P. Fletcher. 
Brazer William. 
Bowers John R. 
Bullard Otis. 
Bedford William. 

Barrett Charles. 

Bayley John. 

Barnard John. 

Brewer John E. 

Bazin Charles. 

Bell Samuel. 

Barrus Lorenzo M. 

Blake Joseph. 

Barnes Henry. 

Bumstead Samuel A. 

Bickner Alexander. 

Benjamin Charles E. 

Burbeck Henry. 



Blagge Samuel. 
Boott William. 
Carter William P. 
Callender Samuel N. 
Callendcr Edward. 
Coolidge Thomas B. 
Colburn James. 
Clark John. 
Cunningham James. 
Curtis Daniel. 
Curtis Samuel. 
Chapman Henry G. 
Cutler Benjamin. 
Cruft John F. 
Church John H. 
Crocker Isaac. 
Cowden Warren. 
Chadwick William S. 
Corlew Elijah J. S. 
Church Edward. 
Cordwell Robert. 
Curtis Henry. 
Clark Nathaniel. 
Coolidge Samuel. 
Clap Bradish R. 
Clap Osborn. 
Chase George. 
Chase William H 
Cody Thomas 
Coolidge Charles. 
Colburn James B^ 
Cooke John C. 
Cooke James. 
Cooke Charles. 
Cordwell Robert. 
Coolidge James. 
Coffin Joshua M. 
Coffin John P. 
Carter Joseph 0. 
CutU.n Edwai-d. 



EOLLS OF THE BOSTON BOYS. 



709 



Carter Henry. 
Crocker Isaac. 
Davenport John. 
Dupee Isaac. 
Dennie George. 
Dunn James C. 
Dall Joseph. 
Davis Henry A. 
Davis Edward G. 
Duggins William. 
Davis Amasa. 
Davis AVilliam . 
Duncan John. 
Deuch Lawson B. 
Dawes Kufus. 
Dawes George. 
Dean Thomas. 
Ellis Grenville. 
Erving James. 
Ellis George. 
Everett Enoch. 
Eaton Joseph B. D. 
Ellis Samuel. 
Eaton John A. 
Etheridge John. 
Eliot Frederick William. 
Eaton Ebenezer. 
Ellis Francis. 
Edwards Richard. 
Ellison James. 
Furness Daniel. 
Furness William H. 
Farley Frederick A. 
Foster Charles S. 
Fox Edward. 
Fox George. 
Fessenden John M. 
Fessenden Guy. 
Fullock William George. 
Foster George. 
Farrie Z. 
Fenloy Frederick. 
Foster Samuel H. 
Foster Charles W. 
Foster Archibald. 
Foley James. 
Farrie Zephaniah. 
Foster James H. 
Foster Charles P. 
Foster Charles S. 
Francis Charles S. 
Fullock James. 
French Jonathan. 
Goddard William. 
Goddard Frederick AV. 
Goddard George A. 
Greenough John. 
Goodwin John Bray. 
Greene Francis. 
Greene Ellis B. 
Greene Benjamin II. 
Geyer Rodolph C. 
Greenough Horatio. 
Greenwood Alfred. 
Goddard Thacher. 
Goodrich Charles. 
Greene John R. 



Gilbert Benjamin Russell. 
Green Mathew. 
Gibson William P. 
Geyer John. 
Goff Davis. 
Green John B. 
Greenwood Edwin L. 
Gardner John L. 
Gardiner James. 
Gould Samuel. 
Gilbert Samuel. 
Homes William B. 
Homes Barzilla. 
Homes William. 
Homes Henry. 
Hunt Henry. 
Harris William. 
Hickling William A. 
Ilickling Charles. 
Hall Albert F. 
How Stephen B. 
Hicks James C. 
Hicks William II. 
Hale James. 
Hall Mathew. 
Hicks Charles. 
Haskins John. 
Hayward William H. 
Hall Christopher J. 
Haven Joseph. 
Homer William. 
Harrington William 
Hewins Joseph D. 
Ilolden Joshua. 
Homer WUliam F. 
Hutchins George. 
Homer Michael A. II. 
Hammond Samuel. 
Haven Charles. 
Hale Thomas C. 
Hall Theodore N. 
Howe George. 
Harris John. 
Hale James. 
Heywood William. 
Hammond William. 
Holland George W. 
Howard Eleazer. 
Homer Abraham. 
Hall Edward. 
Harris William S. 
Hancock John. 
Hancock Thomas. 
Head Francis. 
Huggeford Henry. 
Jackson Benjamin C. 
Jenks John. 
Jenks Francis. 
Johnson Daniel H. 
Jackson William. 
Jones Edward. 
Jennison John. 
Jennison George. 
Jones Thomas. 
Jones Henry. 
Kilham William. 
Ivreager John. 



Kreager Charles. 

King Charles G. 

Kupfer Charles P. 

Levering Frederick. 

Leverctt Frederick P. 

Leverett Charles E. 

Lamb John A. 

Leland Augustus. 

Lewis William. 

Lewis Frederick. 

Lienow William. 

Lamb William D. 

Leeds Henry Morris. 

Lyman Charles. 

Locke Andrew A. 

Lovett Charles W. 

Locke Joseph. 

Loring George. 

Loriug James Speare. 

Loring Jonathan Heard. 

Leeds W. S. H. 

Lewis Winslow. 

Lewis Gustavus. 

Lincoln Abraham. 

Lincoln William. 

Lacaire John. 

Leland Lewis. 

Low John F. 

Leland Francis L. 

Lincoln Mitchell. 

Livermore Edward St.Loe, .Jr. 

MoCondry Emery. 

McCondry Frederick. 

Messenger Thomas. 

Manning William. 

Minns Constant Freeman. 

Minns Thomas. 

Morse Samuel T. 

Moulton George. 

Mackay Barnard. 

Mutzenbecher John. 

Morrill James. 

Mackay Robert C. 

Messenger Foster. 

Munroe Daniel. 

Merriam Nathaniel. 

Merriam William. 

Merriam John. 

Miller William H. 

McNeill Frederick. 

McNeill Henry. 

Norwood George. 

Nichols George. 

Nickerson Ebenezer. 

Nash Daniel. 

Nash Joseph. 

Norton Charles E. 

Nickels Samuel. 

Neill John. 

McNeill William H 

Neat George. 

Neat John. 

Otis James. 

Oliver Thomas H. 

Osborn George. 

Otis George W. 

Ouvre Francis N. 



60 



710 



ROLLS OF THE BOSTON BOTS. 



Phelps Charles C. 

Parker Charles. 

Parker Richard G. 

Peirce John. 

Potter William. 

Prescott Jonathan P. 

Payne Samuel B. 

Payne Josiah C. 

Perry Charles. 

Park John C. 

Pope Nathaniel R. 

Price Henry. 

Phillips Isaac. 

Pierce William. 

Perkins William F. 

Pottle William B. 

Perkins Abijah C. 

Perkins Richard. 

Perkms William. 

Peirce John B. 

Payson John B. 

Pritchard William H. 

Potter William T. 

Parker Charles A. 

Plumbeck Henry. 

Parker John H. 

Perkins Abijah. 

Pollock David. 

Phillips Samuel. 

Partridge Henry. 

Parker Albert. 

Perkins Samuel. 

Penniman George. 

Prescott Edw. Goldsborough. 

Penniman Augustus. 

Redman John. 

Russell James. 

Rupp Joseph. 

Rich Benjamin. 

Rich Samuel H. 

Russell John C. 

Rand Caleb H. 

Roulstone Michael. 

Richardson Benjamin P. 

Redman William. 

Rogers George. 

Rogers Thomas. 

Rice John. 

Russell Francis. 

Roulstone John. 

Rupp Joseph D. 

Roach James. 

Rogers Charles. 



Richardson Edward G. 
Richardson Thomas. 
Reed Lemuel. 
Russell Horatio N. 
Richards Charles. 
Reed Michael. 
Russell Calvin. 
Rogers Peter R. D. 
Rich Aquila J. 
Rogers Henry B. 
Rynes A. R. 
Spear Josiah. 
Sargent Ignatius. 
Smith Thomas. 
Sullivan James. 
Sturgis Russell. 
Spooner John P. 
Spooner Charles. 
Snelling George H. 
Swan Benjamin F. 
Symmes AVilliam. 
Snelling Jonathan. 
Smith Samuel. 
Stimpson Herbert H. 
Simonds Joshua AV. 
Smith Benjamin. 
Stanwood William. 
Smith James. 
Smith Charles. 
Sullivan Thomas R. 
Stimpson Samuel. 
Stevenson Thomas. 
Stanwood David. 
Scolfield Arthur. 
Spooner Francis J. 
Singleton John. 
Singleton Clark. 
Stimpson Frederick H. 
Singleton Charles. 
Stevenson George. 
Sumner Nathaniel C. 
Stanwood Lemuel. 
Salisbury Samuel. 
Sargent George W. 
Tucker C. C. C. 
Twing William E. 
Tilden AVilliam. 
Tileston Robert. 
Tucker John. 
Thaxtcr Joseph. 
Tupper Alfred. 
Taylor John. 



Turner Edward A. H. 
Turner William. 
Thayer Thomas. 
Tattle Samuel. 
Thomas Alexander. 
Taylor Henry. 
Thayer Richard. 
Tileston William M. 
Tilden George W. 
Taylor Robert. 
Thaxter Levi. 
Whall William. 
Wade Henry. 
Wood Samuel S. 
Wales Elisha. 
Winchester Edmund. 
Weld Charles. 
Wheeler Benjamin. 
Wendell Henry. 
Wright Stephen. 
Watson Adolphus Eugene. 
Willett William. 
White Henry. 
AVinslow Edward. 
Wells John D. 
AVelch Benjamin R. 
AVilliams Orlando. 
Williams Francis H. 
Wigglesworth Edward. 
AVyman Oliver C. 
Winslow Isaac. 
Waters John. 
Walter Lyndo M. 
Willis Nathaniel P. 
Withington George R. M 
Wright Chandler. 
Washburn James. 
Whiting Ephraim W. 
West Charles. 
Weaver Edward. 
Whitney James H. 
Whitney William. 
Wheeler George. 
Weld Eugene. 
Williams John D. W. 
Weld George. 
Winueberger George, Jr. 
West Edward. 
Ward George W. 
Whitney Jonathan. 
Young George. 
Young Alexander. 



INDEX OF NAMES, 



Adams, Abigail, 1, 2, 123. 
Adams, John, 3, 7, 11, 18, 19, 26, 

28, 33, 57, 72, 79, 116, 133, 158, 

213, 280, 304, 339, 395, 423. 
Adams, Charles Francis, 276, 609. 
Adams, Samuel, 12, 17, 60, 77, 92, 

94, 105, 117, 146, 156, 170, 190, 

200, 235, 254, 293, 309, 391. 
Adams, Abijah, 232. 
Adams, Zabdiel, 190. 
Adams, John Quincy, 149, 154, 

206, 233, 271, 360,385, 414,465, 

495, 578. 
Appleton, Nathan, 642. 
Attacks, Crispus, 20, 21, 37. 
Allen, James, 23. 
Allen, Ethan, 35. 
Austin, Jonathan Williams, 31, 

133. 
Atkinson, Theodore, 45. 
Allen, William, 64, 287, 385. 
Arnold, 91. 

Allen, Jeremiah, 119, 330. 
Avery, Samuel, 120. 
Austin, Benjamin, 121, 180, 308, 

322. 
Apthorp, Sarah Wentworth, 129. 
Andrews, Benjamin, 132. 
Ames, Fisher, 146, 206, 291, 309, 

383. 
Abercrombie, James, 161. 
Austin, Jonathan Loring, 172, 471. 
Amory, Rufus Green, 199, 277, 

325, 389. 
Alden, John, 567. 
Abbot, Benjamin, 423. 
Abbot, John L., 257, 532. 
Amory, Rebecca, 281. 
Alien, Joseph, 285. 
Ames, Nathaniel, 292. 
Andrews, Anna, 300, 307. 
Angier, Oakes, 304. 
Austin, William, 328. 
Austin, Charles, 339. 
Appleton, Dorothy, 339. 
Appleton, Isaac, 339. 
Austin, Stephen, 370. 
Ashburton, 437. 

Austin, James Trecotbic, 470, 585. 
Atwood, Charles, 477. 
Ambrose, Stephen, 510. 
Ambrose, Hannah, 510. 
Allen, Wilkes, 530. 
AUston, Washington, 559, 626. 
Allen, 577. 
. Austin, Ivers James, 584. 
Amory, Elizabeth Turner, 584. 

Brooks, William H., 665. 
Bentley, WiUiam, 504. 
Brooks, Peter C, 535, 611. 



1, 253. 



44, 54, 
i8, 307, 



Brooks, Charlotte Gray, 535. 
Brown, Clinton, 552. 
Brown, Eliza Maria, 552. 
Bartlett, Ezekiel, 577. 
Benson, George, 579. 
Bailey, Ebenezer, 582. 
Barrett, Samuel, 593. 
Burritt, Elihu, 510. 
Burton, Warren, 496. 
Biglow, WiUiam, 385, 531. 
Brown, John, 2. 
Blake, George, 200, : 
Bartlett, Josiah, 167 
Barker, Benjamin, 2. 
Burke, Acdamus, 1S4. 
BuUard, Samuel, 2. 
Brown, Penuel, 10. 
Blanchard, John, 2. 
Blake, WiUiam, 253. 
Bryant, Thomas, 2. 
Baldwin, 91. 
Bisby, Elisha, 2. 
Bernard, Francis, 4, 2! 

75, 212. 
Brooks, John, 184, 200, 

336, 392, 637. 
Beardmore, Arthur, 170. 
Bowdoin, James, 5, 11, 104, lO: 

381, 641. 
Brown, Elisha, 24. 
Berkley, George, 30. 
Balfour, 33. 
BosweU, James, 36. 
Byles, Mather, 37, 371. 
Burr, Eben, 445. 
Brown, John B., 46. 
Bradford, Alden, 53, 101, 287. 
Bryant, WUliam C, 508. 
Brewer, Jonathan, 65. 
Burgoyne, 67, 174, 107, 375, 506. 
Bacon, Francis, 87. 
Bolan, John, 580. 
Balch, Nathaniel, 90, 109. 
Briggs, George Nixon, 412, 498. 
Brickett, James, 154. 
BarreU, Joseph, 157. 
Blake, 367, 369. 
Seattle, 420. 
Bassett, Francis, 405. 
Bartlett, Joseph, 405. 
Baldwin, Loammi, 186. 
Bigelow, Andrew, 187. 
Bigelow, John P., 187. 
Bigelow, Timothy, 298. 
Bussey, Benjamin, 198. 
Babcock, Adam, 198. 
Brock, Isaac, 221. 
Burke, Edmund, 226. 
Blake, Joseph, 231. 
Black, Anna, 231. 
Blagden, George W., 252. 



Blake, Francis, 254. 
Bell, 267. 
Brown, Luke, 580. 
Buckminster, Joseph Stevens, 260. 

365, 391, 428. 
Bowditch, Nathaniel, 275, 411. 
Bangs, Edward, 301. 
Bliss, 303. 

Beecher, Lyman, 576. 
Baylies, Francis, 303. 
Blowers, Jarathniel, 321. 
Blowers, Elizabeth, 321. 
BuUard, Davis C, 322. 
Boyer, Samuel, 328. 
Badlam, Samuel, 330. 
Binney, Amos, 356. 
Bainbridge, WiUiam, 364. 
Buckingham, Joseph T., 365, 501 
Barker, Jedediah, 371. 
Barker, James, 373. 
BuUard, Asa, 377, 410. 
Bancroft, George, 392, 567. 
Brace, Anna Pierce, 395. 
Byron, Lord, 413. 
Bertody, Amelia, 449. 
Batchelder, Susan, 452. 
Batchelder, WUliam, 452. 
Brooks, Abigail B., 611. 
Baty, Rachael, 254. 
Baker, Elizabeth, 285. 
Bangs, Samuel, 322. 
Brownson, Orestes, 453. 
Bass, Elizabeth, 566. 
Brinley, 566. 
Blanchard, EUza C, 642. 
Bromfield, John, 656. 
Ballister, Joseph, 672. 
Ballister, Sarah E., 672. 

Carleton, Jonathan, 510. 

Carleton, Emily, 510. 

Cheverus, 446, 309. 

Chapman, Jonathan, 23, 193, 581. 

Cranch, WiUiam, 30. 

Cranch, Mrs., 1. 

Clarke, WilUam, 560. 

Clai-ke, Richard, 8. 

Cushing, John Newmarch, '^^". 

Gushing, Thomas, 2, 7, 11, 19, 22, 

85, 125, 157, 235, 612. 
Cushing, WUliam, 560. 
Cushing, Caleb, 441, 513, 577, 652. 
Cushing, Benjamm, 358. 
Chamiing, Edward TyreU, 384. 
Carleton, Guy, 199. 
Chipman, Ward, 199. 
Chamberlain, Samuel, 2. 
Claxton, Timothy, 508. 
Cleveland, 71. 
Clark, Henry G., 553. 
Cushman, Isaac, 2. 



712 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



Collins, John, 165. 
Collins, Abigail, 165. 
Cooper, Samuel, 7, 9, 10, 48, 87, 
lOS, 117, 122, 126, 128,157, 174. 
Cooley, Aaron, 581. 
Cooper, William, 7, 9, 60, 156, 174. 
Crowell, William, 502. 
Copley, Richard, 8. 
Copley, John S., 8, 107. 
Chatham, 8, 120, 268. 
Chauncey, Charles, 10, 23, 32, 174. 
Cavr, Col., 14. 
Child, Xydia Maria, 14. 
Caldwell, James, 20. 
Carr, Patrick, 20. 
Caine, Major, 40. 
Cruikshauk, Alexander, 20. 
Checkley, Richard, 23. 
Clarke, James Freeman, 221. 
Chanuing, William Ellery, 476, 

568, 322, 385, 612. 
Campbell, Thomas, 418. 
Curtis, Charles Pelham, 400, 550, 

596, 660. 
Curtis, George Ticknor, 594, 645. 
Chm-ch, Benjamin, 37, 60, 92. 
Callender, John, 201, 257. 
Callender, Eleazer. 257. 
Clapham, Marv, 38, 59, 79, 122. 
Cole, Hem-y, 45. 
Cambell, John R., 580. 
Campbell, William, 77. 
Conaut, 82. 
Cutler, Susan, 586. 

Cutler, Pliny, 586. 

Carleton, 101. 

Cunningham, William, 116, 117. 

Cabot, George, 202, 206, 288, 303. 

Cabot, Henry, 206. 

Cabot, Elizabeth, 288. 

Curtis, Benjamin, 596. 

Craig, James, 207. 

Cass, Lewis, 606. 

Condy, Jeremiah, 222. 

Crafts, Thomas, 230. 

Clay, Henry, 261, 435, 592. 

Colver, Nathaniel, 276. 

Carter, James, 284. 

Cushmg, Charles, 310. 

Cushing, Sarah, 310. 

Clinton, De,Witt, 317, 340. 

Channing, Francis Dana, 322. 

Clough, Ebenezer, 324, 391. 

Codman, John, 333. 

Columbus, 359, 640. 

Choate, llufus, 395, 586, 630, 649. 

Cordis, Sarah Eliza, 403. 

Cushing, Mary, 419. 

Child, David Lee, 420, 577. 

Chesterfield, 420. 

Chase, Thomas, 428. 

Chase, Irah, 456. 

Crawford, William H., 451, 452. 

Cotton, John, 459. 

Chamiing, Walter, 465. 

Crane, JIargaret, 495. 

Carter, 500. 

CoUier, William, 573. 

Clapp, Noah, 52;). 

Clapp, Lucy, 529. 

Cununings, Sarah, 552. 

Crowningshield, 567. 

Cruft, Edward, Jr., 570. 

Chandler, Peleg W., 613. 
Cleveland, Martha Ann, 615. 
Cleveland, Parker, 615. 
Cobden Richard, 622, 603. 
Cavaignac, 332. 
Champney, Jonas C, 343. 
Camden, 458. 



Coffin, Isaac, 566. 
Cmnmings, David, 588. 
Combe, Andrew, 608. 
Cary, Thomas Greaves, 653. 
Curtis, Catharine S., 600. 
Clapp, Asa, 663. 
Clapp, Elizabeth, 663. 

Davis, Joseph, 2. 

Drowne, Samuel, 22. 

Dalrymple, 12, 14, 16, 75. 

Derby, John B., 568. 

Duncan, 45. 

Drake, Samuel Gardner, 28, 36. 

Dudley, 40, 79. 

Davis, Caleb, 43. 

Dana, Edmund, 49. 

Dana, Francis, 50, 239, 389. 

Dana, Richard Henry, 667. 

Dorr, 63. 

Dawes, William, 81. 

Deveus, Richard, 82. 

Dawes, Thomas, 107, 110, 141, 157, 

307. 
Davis, Solomon, 108. 
Davis, 157, 256, 304, 358, 563. 
Dorr, Ilarbottle, 157, 238. 
Dutton, Warren, 206, 321. 
Dexter, Samuel, 206, 293, 301, 315, 

355, 370, 383, 387. 
Dexter, Franklin, 206, 388. 
Dwight, Theodore, 208, 388. 
Dickens, Charles, 272, 497, 583. 

Dinsmore, 2, 284, 262. 

Dwight, Tunothy, 294. 

Dennie, Joseph, 801, 370. 

Dane, Nathan, 303. 

Dwight, Jonathan, 317, 583. 

Duer, Judge, 318. 

Danforth, Thomas, 320. 

Durant, Cornelius, 325. 

Dearborn, Henry A. S., 360, 445. 

Dearborn, Hem-y, 360, 363, 391, 
420. 

Dana, Caroline, 403. 

Dickinson, John. 423. 

Davis, Mary Anr, 445. 

Davis, Amasa, 446. 

Dunlap, Andrew, 454, 504. 

Davis, John, 497. 

Doane, George W., 502. 

Dunlap, James, 504. 

Dwinette, Justin, 555. 

Dwinette, Susan, 555. 

Derby, Haskett, 558. 

Dana, Samuel, 559, 662. 

Dwight, Lucinda, 583. 

Douglas, 583. 

Dowse, Edward, 598. 

Dwight, Edmund, 599. 

D'Estaign, 103. 

Dix, 566. 

Derby, John, 642. 

Derby, Laura, 642. 

Eliot, John, 10, 38, 41. 
Edes, Benjamin, 26, 53, 76. 
Eustis, WilUam, 48, 187. 
Everett, Alexander Hill, 64, 67, 

480. 
Etheridge, 409. 
Empson, 79. 

Emerson, William, 126, 311. 
Eliot, Andrew, 127. 
Eliot, Ephraim, 27, 256. 
Everett, Edward, 237, 275, 287. 

334, 341, 421, 525, 583, 600,645. 

652. 
Eliot, Samuel, 281, 288. 
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 314, 344 



Elliot, Sunon, 328. 
Everett, David, 337. 
Everett, John, 34-1, 407. 
Endicott, John, 359. 
Ely, 373. 

EUcry, William, 384. 
EUerv, Henrietta S., 384. 
Gould, Agustus A., 688. 
Kidder, Frederic, 688. 
Eastman, Abigail, 427. 
Elliot, 453. 

Emerson, George B., 533. 
EUsler, Famiy, 601. 
Elliot, James 11., 323. 
English, George B., 533. 

Fales, Lucy Ann C. A., 504. 

Fales, Samuel, 504. 

Francis, Lydia Maria, 420. 

Fenno, Jolm, 10. 

Franklyn, 14. 

Fleet, Thomas, 20. 

Fuller, Sarah, 2:;0. 

Field, 21. 

Field, Barnum, 603. 

Felt, Joseph Barlow, 28, 117, 296. 

Faneuil, Peter, 29. 

Flint, Timothy, 377. 

Foster, William, 200, 4G6. 

Fleming, 40. 

Flucker, Thomas, 41, 78. 

Forsyth, 268. 

French, William E., 45. 

Franklin, Benjamm, 61, 174, 239, 

416, 586. 
Fisher, Jabez, 73. 
Frye, 128. 

Freeman, James, 148. 
Frothingham, Richard, 154, 500. 
Fo.x, Charles James, 1(8. 
Foster, Dwight, 201. 
Filhnore, Millard, 243, 437, 611. 
Francis, Converse, 305. 
French, Ebenezer, 322. 
Fuller, Tunothy, 333, 494. 
Forbes, John M., 339. 
Farrar, Ephraim H., 341. 
Furness, William H., 342. 
Farrar, Stephen, 344. 
Faunce, 371. 
Fairbanks, Gerry, 398. 
Farrar, Timothy, 435. 
Fisher, John D., 466. 
Foster, Sally, 494. 
Fay, Richard Sullivan, 524. 
Fay, Samuel P. P., 524. _ 
Felton, Cornelius C, 535. 
Fisk, Theophilus, 555. 
Foster, Samuel H., 569. 
Fiske, Josiah J., 598. 
Fessenden, Thomas G., 151. 
Fields, James T., 665. 

Gould, Hannah F., 517. 
Garrison, William I-loyd, 577. 
Garrison, Abijah, 577. 
Gardiner, John, 168, 309, 501. 
Gerry, Catherine, 473. 
Goddard, Edward, 2. 
Greene, Gardiner, 8. 
Gray, Samuel, 5, 20. 
Gray, Harrison, 67, 190. 
Gray, Benjamin, 21. 
Gray, Edward, 189, 228. 
Greenleaf, William, 7, 8, 90. 
Green, Duff, 393, 403, 478. 
Gage, Thomas, 15, 30, 43, 61, 75, 

78, 85, 89, 161. 
Gray, Thomas, 87,226. 
Graves, Samuel, 62,. 85, 132. 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



713 



Gilbert, Samuel, 20, 342. 

(Jilbert, Benjamin, '20, 342. 

Greenwood, 21, 282. 

Goose, Isaac, 45. 

Gill, John, 26, 53, 16. 

Gould, 43, 394. 

Green, Abigail, 29. 

Gai-diner, Priscilla, 29. 

Gerry, Elbridge, 36, 63, 201, 4T6. 

Granville, George, 52. 

Gordon, William, 69, 8T. 

Glover, 72. 

Gore, Samuel, 90, 108. 

Gridley, Jeremiaii, 90, 123. 

Greene, 101. 

Gates, 104, 1'74. 

Gill, Moses, 123. 

Gardner, John, 293. 

Greenleaf, Benjamin, 477. 

Greenough, William W., 658. 

Giles, Henry, 667. 

Gardner, Samuel P., 398. 

Gardner, llarmab, 132. 

Galloway, 138. 

Greenleaf, Margaret, 141. 

Greenough, Thomas, 157. 

Gibbs, 367, 391. 

Gardiner, Sylvester, 169, 172. 

Gardiner, John S. J., 170, 200, 

293, 355, 500. 
Gardiner, Lydia, 66. 
Goldthwaite, Ezekiel, 190. 
Grant, Moses, 193. 
Garrick, 226. 
Griffith, 193. 

Gardmer, AVilliara H., 217, 344. 
Gore, Christopher, 231, 433. 
Greene, Samuel, 477. 
Gurney, John J., 237. 
Grahame, James, 276. 
Goddard, Calvin, 317. 
Grice, Hannah, 322. 
Gleason, Joseph, 323. 
Gale, William, 381. 
Gray, Francis C, 385. 
Goddard, Cornelia, 395. 
Gray, John C, 398. 
Gray, William, 398. 
Gorham, Benjamin, 436. 
Gilman, John Taylor, 437. 
Greene, Nathaniel, 449. 
Gordon, George WilUara, 452. 
Greene, Charles Gordon, 466. 
Giles, Joel, 616, 657. 
Gore, Elizabeth, 257. 
Gai-dner, Elizabeth F., 393. 
Gray, Ellis, 307. 
Green, Aaron, 125. 

Haskell, Daniel Noyes, 609. 

Hill, Isaac, 450. 

Higginson, Stephen, 110, 334. 

Harris, Margaret, 170. 

Hinckley, 101. 

Herbert, George, 2. 

Hubbai-d, Samuel, 394, 397, 5GS. 

Hobson, John, 2. 

Howe, Susan T., 550. 

Hale, Joseph, 2. 

Hichborn, Benjamin, 101, 130,141. 

307. 
Howe, William, 6, 31, 63, 66, 93, 

163, 167. 
Howe, James Blake, 530. 
Hale, John, 406. 
Hancock, John, 9, 11, 13, 19, 38, 

60, 72, 88, 126, 157, 197, 424. 
Hayward, Susanna, 377. 
Hawke, Mary, 72. 
Huntington, Kalph, 466. 

60* 



Huntington, Julia B., 460. 
HaU, Rowland, 69. 
Henshaw, Charles, 508. 
Hallowell, Benjamin, 62. 
Hardin, Benjamin, 518. 
Heath, William. 61, 223. 
Hill, Henry, 45.' 
Hill, Hannah, 37. 
Hill, Charlotte, 478. 
Hutchinson, Thomas, 8, 11,14, 53, 

75, 78, 108, 139. 
Holyoke, Edward Augustus, 159. 
Harrison, Benjamin, 93. 
Hamilton, Alexander, 90, 202, 326. 
Henchman, Daniel, 72. 
Homer, Jonathan, 60. 
Hubbard, Tuthill, 21, 157. 
Halley, Edmund, 30, 370. 
Hinckley, Joseph, 21. 
Hamlet, 630. 
Hayne, Kobert Y., 440. 
Hooton, Bichard, 49. 
Hood, Charles, 362. 
Hunt, Samuel, 22, 471. 
Hallett, Benjamin F., 511. 
Hastings, 42. 
Hastings, Edmund Trowbridge, 

50. 
Holbrook, Abraham, 90. 
Harper, 119. 
Holbrook, Abiel, 377. 
Haven, Siunuel, 253. 
Holmes, John, 245, 267. 
Harris, Thaddeus M., 530. 
Hammond, Samuel, 485. 
Hammond, Slary, 485. 
Hayward, Benjamin, 184. 
HiUiard, 195. 

Harris, Thaddeus W., 530. 
Hayes, Mordecai M., 199. 
HiUard, George S., 539, 546. 
Hale, Nathan, 368. 
Hemy, John, 207. 
Hull, WilUam, 218. 
Hewes, George 11. T., 554. 
Hayden, William, 272, 382. 
Henry, Patrick, 692. 
Hunt, James, 22, 234, 471. 
Hall, Joseph, 306. 
Haskins, Kuth, 312. 
Hopkinson, Francis, 318. 
Higginson, Susan, 323. 
Hunt, Mary Le Baron, 323. 
Henshaw, David, 362, 564. 
HoUey, Horace, 367. 
HoUey, John, 368. 
Holley, Luther, 375. 
Harrison, William II., 589. 
Humphries, 382. 
Henderson, JIary E., 392. 
Hill, Lucy, 529. 
Hickling, Thomas, 500. 
Hickling, Catherine G., 500. 
Ilutton, Mary, 524. 
Hutcliinson, Ann, 616. 

Inches, Henderson, 7. 
Ivers, Hannah, 174. 
Ingalls, WiUiam, 393, 552. 

Jacob, Relief, 329. 
Jenks, William, 326. 
James, John Warren, 460. 
James, Benjamin, 460. 
Jaques, Nathan, 105. 
Jenuison, Eunice, 464. 
Jefferson, Thomas, 12, 55, 68, 95, 

132, 200, 239, 261, 318, 369. 
Jackson, Henry, 184. 
Jones, Daniel, 31. 



Jones, Thomas, 84. 

Jones, James A., 477. 

Jeffries, John, 63. 

Jackson, 167, 209, 228, 316, S26. 

Jarvis, Delia, 135. 

Jarvis, Charles, 157, 170, 307. 

Jeffries, David, 157. 

Jones, 204. 

Jackson, Charles, 206, 294,443. 

Johnson, Joshua, 240. 

Jackson, Andrew, 240, 452, 407, 

465, 537, 567. 
Jay, John, 307. 
Jarvis, Russell, 403. 
Johnston, D. C, 419. 
Johnson, Samuel, 36, 420, 612. 
Jackson, Francis, 371. 
Johnson, Mary, 365. 
Johnson, Louisa, 240. 
Judson, Ann IL, 456. 

Kilson, 9. 

Kneeland, Abner, 505. 

KeppeU, William, 37. 

Kirkby, William, 37. 

Kriun, John M., 570. 

Knight, Thomas, 69. 

Knox, Henry, 91, 184, 316, 365. 

King, Bufus, 137, 318, 534. 

Kent, Mary, 154. 

Knapp, Samuel L., 202, 250, 419, 

King, Thomas S., 676. 

Kossuth, Louis, 538. 

Kuhn, John, 358. 

Key, 605. 

Kettelle, 358, 415. 

Knapp, Josiah, 377. 

Knapp, Elizabeth, 377. 

Knapp, Isaac, 578. 

Kuowles, James D., 455. 

Knowles, Edward, 655. 

Knapp, Jacob N., 500. 

Kent, 624. 

Kirkland, John Thornton, 237. 

Kingslnu-y, Joseph, 296. 

Kinsman, Henry Willis, 564. 

Langley, Joshua, 455. 

Leroy, Herman, 435. 

Loring, Charles Greely, 393. 

Luring, Caleb, 394. 

Lnrin-, John, 3JS. 

L"i-iiig, Samuel, 358. 

Loring, Thomas, 2. 

Loring, James, 148. 

Loring, Edward G., 272. 

Lee, William K., 362. 

Livermore, Edward St. Loe, 367. 

Lincoln, Ezra, 412. 

Lincoln, James Otis, 356. 

Lincoln, Abner, 355. 

Lincoln, Benjamin, 84, 220, 302, 

316. 
Lincohi, Levi, 271, 302, 330, 377, 

494, 637. 
Lewis, Ezekiel, 2. 
Lyndhm'st, 8. 

Lathrop, John, 3, 10, 135, 255. 
Lunt, William P., 3U. 
Little, William, 14. 
Lamb, Thomas, 26. 
Lovell, James, 22, 29, 131, 146. 
Lovell, John, 29, 194, 198, 302. 
LoweU, 84, 206, 278, 321. 
Laurens, Henry, 236. 
Lee, Arthur, 35, 62, 175, 239. 
Lawrence, Samuel, 66. 
Lawrence, Abbott, 303. 
Lawrence, James, 266 
Larkin, 32. 



714 



INDEX 



NAMES. 



Langdon, 1(4. 

L:ifayette, 187, 367, 391, 415. 

Lioyd, James, 198, 22S, 391. 

Lee, ■yViUiam, 200. 

Lyman, Theodore, 210, 307, 391, 

534, 580. 
Lothrop, Samuel K., 217. 
Livingston, Edward, 241, 453. 
Longfellow, 303. 
Lucas, 326. 
Lamartine, A. de, 330. 
Lyon, Lawson, 341. 
Lloyd, Fanny, 577. 
Luudy, Benjamin, 578. 
Lumpkin, Wilson, 579. 
Lincoln, Daniel W., 351. 
Little, Frances Boyd, 393. 
Little, Sempronia, 393. 
Langley, Susan E., 455. 
Langley, Joshua, 455. 

Blann, Horace, 242, 477, 498, 540, 

598, 605. 
Miller, 323, 496. 
Marshall, John, 296, 439,465, 478, 

542, 555. 
Morton, 21, 69, 127, 157, 172, 260, 

278, 305, 329, 637. 
May, Samuel J., 344. 
Morrison, James, 371. 
Morgridge, Sarah, 382. 
Mills, Elijah IL, 437. 
Mason, William P., 447. 
Malcom, Howard, 456. 
Metca]f,Theron, 14, 49, 601. 
Mackintosh, James, 459, 562. 
Mooney, 466. 
Marshall, Josiah, 493. 
Marshall, Emily, 493. 
Mead, 508. 

Moseley, Ebenezer, 514. 
Messer, 603. 
Messer, Charlotte, 603. 
Monroe, James, 240, 
Mather, Cotton, 256. 
Moorhead, John, 10, 74. 
Blassenger, Daniel, 368. 
Maverick, Samuel, 20. 
Maverick, Mary, 21. 
May, Joseph, 22, 23. 
Mein, John, 24. 
Jlifflin, Thomas, 103. 
lilorse, Jedediah, 27, 117. 
Montgomery, 96, 165. 
Middleton, Alexander, 32. 
Maynard, Needham, 64. 
Montague, WUliam H., 67, 192. 
Monk, Christopher, 79. 
Mitchell, 83. 
Marett, 84. 

Morris, Robert, 102, 199, 318. 
Minot, George R., Ill, 127, 146, 

328. 
Mountfort, George, 121. 
Morgan, 128. 

Mason, Jonathan, 139, 443. 
Meredith, David, 170. 
Manning, William, 148. 
Mackay, William, 157. 



Madison, James, 200, 240, 435, 

340. 
Morgan, Hannah, 220. 
Munroe, Isaac, 322. 
Murray, John, 322. 
MoDonough, Thomas, 324. 
McDonough, Charlotte T., 324. 
Merrick, Pliny, 635. 
Mark, 82. 
Marlborough, 215. 



Marvel, Andrew, 242. 
Murdock, Sarah, 254. 
Monroe, Stephen, 349. 
Monroe, Susan J., 349. 
Markoe, Francis, 521. 
MacNamee, 538. 
Mann, Herman, 605. 
McKean, 403. 

North, Lord, 6, 12, 26, 77. 
Newcomb, Joseph Warren, 49. 
Newcomb, Richard E., 68. 
Nott, Eliphalet, 260. 
Napoleon, 138, 421. 
Nicholas, 332. 
Nichols, Francis, 365. 
Newhall, Allen, 508. 
Nystrom, Adale, 596. 

Otis, James, 3, 4, 11, 23, 57, 74, 
79, 117, 156, 195, 197, 334, 542. 

Otis, Samuel AUeyne, 189. 

Otis, Harrison Gray, 119, 170, 189, 
252, 268, 280, 303, 308, 310, 315, 
318, 475, 486, 534, 568, 586. 

Otis, Joseph, 304. 

Otis, Sophia H., 323. 

Otis, AViUiam F., 493. 

Oliver, Andrew, 16. 

Oatley, Thomas, 50. 

Orne, Azor, 109. 

Ossoli, Margaret Fuller, 333, 459. 

Osgood, Dorcas, 362. 

Oliver, Francis J., 368. 

Orne, Henry, 382, 393, 568. 

Osgood, 542. 

Ogilvie, James, 559. 

OUver, Thomas Fitch, 560. 

Oliver, Mary L., 560. 

Olcott, Miles, 588. 

Olcott, Helen, 588. 

O'Hara, 9. 

O'Connell, Daniel, 46S. 

Otis, George Alexander, 466. 

Palmer, David, 657. 
Pitman, John, 504. 
I'eabody, Augustus, 493. 
Prescott, Edward G., 500. 
Prescott, William IL, 500. 
Pickman, Dudley, 524. 
Pickman, Caroline L., 514. 
Puikitt, Hemy, 368, 654. 
Palmer, Joseph, 559. 
Peabody, Nathaniel T., 603. 
Peabody, Mary, 603. 
Pollard, Jonathan, 365. 
Pollard, Benjamin, 365. 
Pollard, WUliam, 365. 
Pollard, Anne, 365. 
Pierce, Daniel, 2, 257. 
Park, Edwards, 224. 
Paxton, Charles, 2. 
Pinckney, Charles C, 208. 
Preston, Thomas, 6, 14, 18, 22, 

139. 
Pickam, Peter, 8. 
Pickman, Benjamin, 206. 
Pierpont, 8, 296. 
Patterson, Robert, 144. 
Peraberton, Eljenezer, 10, 53, 326. 
Perkins, Thomas IL, 20, 202, 206, 

315, 655. 
Perkiiis, James, 20, 655. 
Perkins, Mary, 655. 
Pickard, Mark, 33. 
Powell, William, 35. 
Putnam, Samuel, 558. 
Putnam, Israel, 64. 
Price, Ezekiel, 42, 157. 



Phillips, Jonathan, 476. 
Prescott, 63, 83, 195, 202, 206, 303, 

385, 390, 500. 
Pownal, Thomas, 72. 
Percy, Lord, 85, 106, 163. 
Paddock, Adino, 89, 223. 
Parker, Blary, 580. 
PoweU, Charles, 118. 
Powell, Jeremiah, 101. 
Parsons, TheophUus, 117, 239, 2S6, 

290, 379, 389, 611. 
Pool, Elizabeth, 125. 
Payne, William, 485. 
Payne, John Howard, 4S5. 
Paine, Robert Treat, 129, 283, 365, 

235. 
PoweU, Susanna, 141. 
Pickering, 154, 208, 326, 453. 
Parr, Samuel, 170. 
Pitcairn, 161. 
Priestley, Joseph, 178. 
Pope, William, 272. 
Polk, James Knox, 650. 
Pendleton, 419. 
Potter, 508. 

Parsons, Charles C, 206. 
Parsons, William, 344. 
Pillow, 247. 

Phillips, John, 248, 268. 
Phillips, Samuel, 250 
Phillips, George, 252. 
Phillips, WendeU, 252. 
Phillips, GrenviUe T., 252. 
Phillips, Abigail, 259. 
Poindexter, Robert, 263. 
Palfrey, John G., 72, 290, 485, 644. 
Parker, Isaac, 281, 330, 355, 378. 

569. 
Pitt, William, 292. 
Park, John, 302. 
Pope, Joseph, 301. 
Pepperell, William, 310. 
Palfrey, William, 485. 
Paine, Charles, 310. 
Payson, Philips, 314. 
Polo, Marco, 332. 
Putnam, George, 364, 5S6. 
Putnam, Mary Ann, 395. 
Prince, Thomas, 641. 
Putnam, Jesse, 438. 
Pi-entiss, 448. 
Prince, Joseph H., 453. 
Prince, Henry, 453. 
Peabody, Lucretia 0., 482. 
Peabody, Oliver, 482. 
Parkman, 582, 638. 
Power, Thomas, 586. 
Parke, Baron, 622. 
Peirce, Joseph, 257. 
Peabody, Oliver, 482. 
Parker, Phebe, 345. 
Palmer, David, 657. 

Quincy, 1, 2, 84, 86, 284, 616. 
Quincy. Josiali, IS, 59, 86, 104 

167, 210, 251, 258, 288, 328, 328, 

331, 368, 415, 418. 
Quincy, Josiah, Jr., 496, 658. 

Rand, Benjamin, 620, 658. 
Rolfe, Baron, 622. 
Richardson, James, 598. 
Rogers, William, 2. 
Radcliff, Peter W., 370. 
Rice, John, 2. 
Reynolds, Edward, 252. 
Robbins, Chandler, 657. 
Rogers, Nathaniel, 9. 
Rogers, William, 13, 356. 
Ruggles, Timothy, 12, 43. 



INDEX OF NAxMES. 



715 



Revere, Paul, 25, 41, 43, 81, 216. 
Rochester, 53, 
Reed, Luman, 656. 
Rowe, George, 40. 
Robinson. 42, 332. 
Rees, 53,127. 
Reed, 62. 
Rivington, 60. 
Rawson, Eliot, 72. 
Randolph, Peyton, 93. 
Russell, Benjamin, 109, 113, 142, 
191, 240, 267, 286, 302, 367, 554, 

Rhea, Daniel, 116. 
Koulstone, 142. 
Russell, Thomas, 159. 
Russell, Charles Theodore, 670. 
Rumford, 186. 
Ross, Charles, 236. 
Rice, John Parker, 270. 
Ritchie, Andrew, 325. 
Reeve, 394. 
Rand, Elizabeth, 412. 
Randolph, John, 419. 
Rogers, Daniel D., 448. 
Robinson, Frederick, 524. 
Rantoul, Robert, 524, 642. 
Richardson, George, 530. 
Rice, David, 567. 
Rogers, Margaret, 572. 
Rogers, William B., 356. 

Sargent, Henry, 671. 

Sargent, Lucius Manlius, 28. 

Spooner, 305, 371. 

Stackpole, William, 367. 

Sivett, Hannah, 362. 

Stark, John, 861. 

Small, John, 64. 

Sanders, John, 2. 

Sargent, Jonathan, 2. 

Southvvorth, Nathaniel, 2. 

Shove, Edward, 2. 

Stone, William, 2. 

Stone, 20. 

Stedman, 6. 

Smibert, 8, 30. 

Sewall, Jonathan, 163. 

Sears, David, 8, 141. 

Scott, John, 8. 

Spear, Pool, 9. 

Stillman, Samuel, 10, 222, 373. 

Swett, Samuel, 64. 

Skene, 33, 35. 

Smith, Martin, 23. 

Stiles, Ezra, 23. 

Snider, Christopher, 25. 

Seward, Catharine, 36. 

Stevens, Samuel, 46. 

Scollay, John, 128, 157. 

ScoUay, Mercy, 49. 

Scollay, Lucy, 368. 

Shelburne, 53, 178. 

Sullivan, Richard, 382. 

Savage, Arthur, 67. 

Sewell, Samuel, 84, 557. 

Schuyler, Philip, 95, 101. 

Savage, Habijah, 355. 

Savage, Hope, 377. 

Stackpole, Sarah Creese, 367. 

Shays, Daniel, 187, 200. 

Sullivan, George, 381. 

Savage, James, 334, 353, 448. 

Stewart, C. S., 337. 

SulUvan, 101, 104, 118, 126, 157, 

174, 217, 295, 313, 355. 
Sanderson, 103. 
Scott, James, 73, 106. 
SulUvan, WilUam, 111, 202, 206, 

313, 368, 377, 448. 



Shaw, William S., 117, 296, 312, 

355, 377. 
Somes, Thomas, 144. 
Speakman, Mary, 147. 
Stormont, 175. 
Strong, Caleb, 187, 203, 384. 
Smith, Isaac, 189. 
Shaw, Oakes, 195, 377. 
Shaw, Lemuel, 337, 375, 397, 403, 

411, 582. 
Spencer, Ambrose, 195. 
Sedgwick, Theodore, 318. 
Scott, Walter, 331, 421, 542. 
Sumner, George, 332. 
Sumner, Horace, 332. 
Selfridge, Thomas 0., 339. 
Savage, Thomas, 354. 
Savage, Samuel, 377. 
Storer, Ebenezer, 88. 
Smith, Lucy, 186. 
Stuart, George 0., 187. 
Swan, Sarah Webb, 314. 
Smith, Tamar, 348, 
Story, Elisha, 557. 
Sampson, Elizabeth, 5S6. 
Stevenson, Andrew, 543. 
Sumner, Mary, 398. 
Scollay, Anna Wroe, 403. 
Stevenson, Margaret, 403. 
Sprague, Samuel, 409. 
Sprague, Charles, 1, 217,377,407, 

408. ♦ 

Sprague, Charles James, 412. 
Stodder, Amelia IL, 412. 
Southey, Robert, 415. 
Sanborn, Edwin D., 428. 
Shurtleff, Roswell, 432. 
Shurtleff, Nathaniel B., 358. 
Simonds, Ephraim, 432. 
Stoughton, WilUam, 456. 
Sumner, Bradford, 449, 507. 
Sparks, Jared, 482. 
Smith, Henry Barney, 483. 
Snell, 508. 

Scott, Winfield, 521. 
Smith, Jerome V. C, 552. 
Smith, Richard R., 551. 
Story, Mary Oliver, 596. 
Stuart, Gilbert, 141, 217, 375. 
Sumner, Charles, 277, 505, 563, 

611, 617, 619. 
Sumner, Charles P., 19, 328, 619. 
Story, Joseph, 269, 287, 329, 363, 

430, 505, 534, 541, 543, 555, 021. 
Steuben, 220. 

Stuart, Moses, 226, 606, 649. 
Shields, 247. 

StUlman, George, 356, 548. 
Sprague, Seth, 267. 
Shaw, Samuel, 275. 
Sumner, Job, 325. 
Sprague, Madam, 296. 
Swan, James, 314. 
Sheffield, 638. 

Temple, John, 641. 

Taney, Roger B., 663. 

Thompson, George, 579. 

Thompson, Benjamin, 491. 

Thayer, Joanna, 409. 

Tudor, WiUiam, 1, 11, 117, 135, 

147, 157, 229, 260, 333, 335. 
Tay, Isaiah, 2. 
Torrey, John, 2. 
Trist, Nicholas P., 538. 
Tenny, Samuel, 2. 
Troutbec, John, 10. 
Tudor, John, 355. 
Tappan, John, 20. 
Xhacher, 41, 125. 



Thacher, Peter, 106, 117, 122, 256. 
Thacher, Oxenbridge, 74, 123. 
Tucker, Robert, 46. 
TnunbuU, 66, 75, 103, 120, 190. 
Thomas, Isaiah, 77, 301, 410, 637- 
Thomas, Mary R., 637. 
Turell, 108, 229. 
Thayer, John, 170. 
Tufts, Simeon, 186. 
Thacher, George, 201. 
Thorndike, Israel, 206. 
Taylor, Zachary, 214, 522, 630. 
Thompson, Thomas W., 428, 433. 
Tyler, Lucy, 223. 
Tucker, John, 338. 
Twiggs, 247. 
Thui-ston, AYilliam, 464. 
Templeman, 258. 
TreadweU, Daniel, 270. 
Tisdale, James, 285, 559 
Thomas, 303. 
Thacher, Peter 0., 324. 
Tocqueville, 330. 
Tudor, Frederick, 334. 
Tyng, Dudley A., 342. 
Travice, Nicholas, 354. 
Tudor, Elizabeth, 355. 
Tukey, Francis, 367. 
Tappan, James, 428. 
Tyler, John, 452, 519, 567. 
Taylor, Jeremy, 459. 
Townsend, Alexander, 349. 
Townsend, David, 350. 

Upton, Daniel P., 355. 
Upshm-, AbelP.,437. 
Upham, 199. 

Vamum, Joseph B., 203. 
Vidocq, Eugene, 367. 
Van Bui-en, 569, 611, 663. 
Vaughan, 621, 630. 
Vinal, 132. 
Vane, Ileuryj 458. 

Webster, Daniel, 214, 336, 390, 
407, 421, 500, 529, 545, 550, 
563, 568, 590, 606. 

Whitman, 45. 

Waterhouse, Samuel, 33, 74. 

Washington, George, 34, 39, 48, 
65, 94, 110, 116, 147, 163, 187, 
216, 286, 305, 318, 325, 369. 

Winslow, John, 64, 306. 

Williams, Samuel, 46. 

Wilton, Samuel, 68. 

WUliamson, 91. 

Whitcomb, Chapman, 122, 391. 

Weston, 367. 

Welsh, Thomas, 154. 

Willard, Joseph, 166. 

Wilde, Samuel S., 205, 515. 

Woods, Leonard, 326. 

WelUngton, 215. 

Webb, 157, 220. 

Whitefleld, George, 225. 

Warner, 235, 373. 

Wibird Anthony, 236. 

Winthrop, Robert C, 236, 247, 
544, 638. 

Worth, 247. 

WendeU, Jacob, 249. 

Wellesley, 256. 

Worcester, Noah, 268. 

Wallack, 285. 

Worthington, John, 293. 

Wheeler, TheophUus, 301. 

Waldo, 303. 

Watson, Ellen, 304. 

Wmslow, Isaac, 365. 



716 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



Winthrop, John, 35G, 359, 45 
Woodman, 321. 
Wadsworth, John, 2. 
Wendell, Margaret, 249. 
Woodbury, Levi, 660. 
Woodbury, Petei", 662. 
Williams, Roger, 458. 
"^Welles, Arnold, 49, 142, 368. 
W hite, Edward, 2. 
AVyman, Amos, 84. 
West, Samuel, 39. 
West, Stephen, 370. 
Ward, Richard, 2. 
Ward, 40, 128, 195. 
Wilder, Joseph, 2. 
AVallace, George L., 7. 
Whitwell, William, 8. 
Walsh, Robert, 207. 
M'hitwell, Samuel, 8, 228. 
Whitwell, Benjamin, 368. 
Wiuthrop, Samuel, 8. 
Waterston, Robert C, 242. 
Ware, Henry, 33, 328, 486. 
Ware, Ashur, 382. 
Ware, Joseph, 282. 
Wan-en, James, 11. 
Warren, John, 29, 46, 69, 157 



Wilkes, 23, 169. 

Weld, Benjamin, 37. 

Wainwood, 40. 

Wolcott, 48. 

Warren, Ebenezer, 123. 

Warren, Edward, 68. 

AVarren, Peter, 45. 

Warren, John C, 28, 46, 48, 123, 

141. 
Wan-en, Joseph, 23, 42, 45, 77, 81, 

85, 92, 108, 123, 300, 307, 423, 

592. 
■y^Tiiston Obadiah, 90. 
Williams, 92, 113, 136. 
Walley, Thomas, 252. 
Wirt, WUliam, 272, 362, 588. 
Webster, John W., 380, 638. 
Worthington, Frances, 298. 
Whipple, Mathew, 664. 
Whipple, Edwin P., 591, 664. 
Winthrop, Sarah B., 381. 
Winthrop, Thomas L., 381,641. 
■i;V'ells, Samuel A., 391. 
Witherell, Ann, 405. 
Webb, Nathan, 411. 
Webster, Ebenezer, 427. 
Wood, Samuel, 429. 



Webster, Ezekiel, 431, 531. 
Wheelock, John, 433. 
Worcester, Thomas, 435. 
■Wren, Christopher, 458. 
Walsh, Robert, 474. 
Wells, Charles A., 498. 
Wade, John, 507. 
Warfield, Elizabeth, 507. 
Walker, Amasa, 508. 
Wilde, Caroline E., 515. 
Wetmore, Sarah Waldo, 560. 
Willis, Benjamin, 564. 
Willis, Ehzabeth, 564. 
Wiiislow, Hubbard, 576. 
Whitman, Benjamin, 583. 
Waiuwright, Jonathan, 590. 
Wilkinson, James John, 620. 
Wmthrop, EUzabeth, 641. 
White, William Charles, 344. 
Wheaton, Levi, 6'23. 
Welles, Arnold ¥., 642. 
Webster, Fletcher, 648. 
■White, Stephen, 652. 
AVhite, Cai-oline Story, 652. 

Young, Alexander, 288 342. 
Young, Thomas, 24, 26, 77. 



THE HUNDEED ORATORS: 

OE, 

THE LIVES AND TIMES 

OF 

EMINENT PATRIOTS AND POLITICIANS. 



THE HUNDRED BOSTON ORATORS, appointed by the Municipal Authorities and 
other Public Bodies, from 1770 to 1852 : comprising Historical Gleanings, illus- 
trating the Principles and Progress of our Republican Institutions. By James 
Spear Loring. Published by John P. Jewett & Co., Boston ; and by Jewett, Proc- 
tor & Worthington, Cleveland, Ohio. Price $2.50. 

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

This stately and attractive volume will hardly fail to find its way into hundreds of 
families, who will love to trace the history of some relative or "father's friend," as 
briefly sketched on its pages, with well-selected illustrations of the intellectual and 
moral power put forth on liis generation. Candor, fidelity and discrimination, dis- 
tinctively mark those articles we have had leisure to read ; and, though not honored 
with the personal acquaintance of the editor, nor familiar witli his character as known 
by others, he leaves a highly favorable impression of a sound judgment, and a hearty 
disposition to do justice without flattery to all of whom he writes. Most of the names 
here enshrined in beauty and glory are fomiliar as household words ; and the origin, 
progress and final celebrity, of those who so honorably bore them, are matters of no 
common interest to the pati-iotic mind. A vast amount of valuable historical material 
is here collected and arranged, both in the order of nature and time, with happy 
eflect, while it is clothed in a style of chaste and simple elegance at once captivating 
and improving to the reader. — Congregationalist. 

Mr. James Spear Loring, of Boston, has taken the series of town orators on the 
Massacre, Fourth of July celebrations, and such occasional affairs as the arrival of 
Lafayette, for a capital chance to indulge in a commendable taste for local history and 
personal biography. The array, upon the whole, does not preserve the same imposing 
dignity as Lord Campbell's series of the Lord Chancellors, for instance ; but this was 
hardly to be expected by anybody ; though, on the other hand, it is surprising how 
many great men this connecting thread has brought into the plan of Mr. Loring's 
work. It is pleasant to turn over Mr. Loring's gossiping pages. He writes con 
amore, to be sure, with a pen fuU of panegyric, which even patriotism wearies of, at 
the hundreth repetition ; but we are accustomed in such chronicles to a little vague 
enthusiasm, remembering that, if there were not a good deal of this commodity, no 
man could get through the labors of celebrating so large a number of mixed notables 
and meiliocrities. You cannot expect the critical powers of an Aristotle to be applied 
to such an undertaking. The man who puts his foot into such a thing will not boggle 
at a puff. Delightful are the unreserved communications of the genuine antiquarian 
Facts are facts in his eyes, and one pretty much of the same importance as another. 



718 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

Every date is an era. Every piece of prose broken into irregular lines is poetry. It 
is astonishing how much a certain species of tombstone verse enters into the New Eng- 
land Chronicles. The poetic genius has produced no Spensers or Miltons in that 
region ; but well-nigh every country schoolmaster and parish clergyman has paid the 
Muse the compliment of recording his emotions in doggerel. You will find, reader, 
the Hundred Orators of Boston an excellent parlor-table companion. Dipping into 
it at random, as we shall do on this occasion, you are pretty sure to fish up some- 
thing quaint and notable respecting some of " the most remarkable men of our coun- 
try." — JVew York Literary World. 

This large octavo is a compilation of rhetorical and historical matter. The plan is 
a novel and a happy one. It afibrds not only a regular series of pictures representing 
the state of public feeling on national topics for every year during a century past, but 
characteristic specimens of the popular style of oratory during that period. Mr. 
Loring has not given whole orations ; far from that. He has selected only striking 
and characteristic passages from each, — such as exhibit the tone of feeling prevalent 
at the time, and display the peculiar powers of the orator. Each specimen is accom 
panied with a biographical sketch, more or less extensive. These portions of the book 
will be found to contain a great abundance of curious and interesting facts, illustrating 
the history of the times, and well worthy the attention of all who are interested in 
American literature and history. In short, this is emphatically an American book, 
aud should be found in every American library. — KettelWs Courier. 

Thousands and thousands, who will read this work years hence, when the hand 
which penned it and the mind which conceived and executed the task have passed 
away, will acknowledge their debt of gratitude. Mr. Loring has, as it were, lifted 
from the grave the orators who in their day have delighted and electrified our citizens. 
— Clapp's Gazette. 

If Boston had no other claim to the name "Athens of America," the transcendent 
character of its oratory would be sufficient. This book is as proud a monument of 
ability as can be reared in any other city in the world. It is a work which every 
Bostonian might wish to possess, every New Englander view with pride, and every 
American examine with interest. — Commonwealth. 

This work of Mr. Loring, considered in an historical point of view alone, will be 
considered a valuable contribution to the history of Boston ; considered as a Ijiograph- 
ical work, it will be of immense advantage to inquirers about those who have stood 
forth as public speakers in the metropolis, through a period of the greatest interest, 
not only in the history of Boston, but of the country. The author of " The Hundred 
Orators " has been most industrious upon his work, from the time he formed the idea 
of it until it was produced (26th May, 1852). He had, perhaps, before him that excel- 
lent maxim of Dr. Johnson, namely, that " a man would never publish, if he waited 
to get all he wanted ; that, in groping about for materials forever, he would tire out 
his own mind, and hence would never produce anything ; and all lie had done would 
be lost to the world." There are many at this day whom we should recommend to 
inscribe this sentiment of Johnson on the door they have occasion to open oftenest 
That the author is the first in his field, we take it no one will deny. —JVeiu England 
Gen. and Hist. Register. 

" The work throughout," says the learned " Sigma," of the Transcript, " furnishes 
abundant evidence of labor and research, and is an interestmg and very valuable 



OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 719 

repository of curious auci useful information ; for the collection and ingathering of 
•R-hich, in its present form, Mr. Loring is entitled to the hearty thanks of all who feel 
an interest in the preservation of the elements of history, not less than of him who 
reads for sheer amusement. It is the work of a good citizen, to stretch forth a saving 
hand and preserve what he can from the wreck, when the spirit of disorganization is 
abroad. A practical illustration rises before the mind, as I write these words ; and I 
Bee good old Andrew Eliot, on the memorable night of August 26, 1765, gathering up 
the flying leaves of Hutchinson's History of Massachusetts, whicli the mob, in the 
spirit of Omar, the abhorrer of letters, were casting to the winds." "This book 
will be coveted," says the editor of the Transcript, " not only by every Boston boy, 
/mt by every man of New England descent, throughout the land." 

It is wonderful, when we come to reflect upon it, that no one has ever before 
attempted such a work as this. We doubt whether there is another city in the world 
which could have afforded materials for such a volume. It should be bought by all 
who desire to render themselves familiar with the spirit of the past and present times, 
as developed in patriotic and oratorical literature. It is a good and inspiring book for 
young men, and we hope it will be much read by them. — Cambridge Chronicle. 

We heartily commend the work, as one of rare interest, and essential importance 
for historical reference on points not to be ascertained elsewhere, without laborious 
research, if they are attainable at all. An ample alphabetical index of names adds to 
its convenience, and some historical memoranda are contributed in an appendix. 
Boston has good reason to be proud of her hundred orators, as all will acknowledge 
who examine this fine volume. — Salem Register. 

The work attests to the laborious reseai-ch, industry, ability and public spirit, of its 
editor. We know of no historical work which will give the general reader so full and 
vivid an account of public aflairs, fi'om 1770 to 1783, as will be found in this work of 
Mr. Loring. We commend the instructive and interesting pages of Mr. Loring's 
great work to all students of American history. No private or public library should 
be considered as perfect without a copy. — Schouler's Atlas. 

Here may be had, besides the biographical sketches, more or less minute, of the 
"Hundred Orators," a collection of curious historical gleanings, illustrative of the 
times, such as can nowhere else be found. These facts and gleanings are certainly 
creditable to the industry and perseverance of the author ; while those fond of old 
times will find here a treat of rare extracts, as to political views, and of interesting 
personal narrative. We cordially commend the volume, not only to Bostonians, but 
to all who love to linger on Revolutionary days. — Boston Post. 

It has been compiled with care, and contains much that is curious and interesting, 
and will doubtless be received as a valuable addition to many libraries. — Hale's 
Advertiser. 

This volume is of the greatest interest to Bostonians, containing, as it does, a mass 
of personal and municipal history and incidents, which has been collected after careful 
research and much labor. — Sleeper's Journal. 

We are pleased to welcome this handsome volume. The editor has done a good 
work by presenting us with much valuable information in regard to the history and 
talents of more than one hundred distinguished orators. The work evinces a great 
amount of labor, care, and good taste. — Watchman and Reflector. 



720 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

There is more in this volume to substantiate the claim of Boston to the honorable 
title of the Athens of America than we have found in any of her former works. One 
hundred orators, some of them the first in the nation, and all above mediocrity, are a 
matter to be proud of. There are marks of very great labor, research and care, 
throughout the work. — Philadelphia Bulletin. 

This intellectual gathering, the growth of four years' labor and of persevering 
research, is not to be affected materially by the breath of censure or the pufl" of 
praise. It is one of the most interesting books of the season, and it is destined to 
increase in interest as the years pass by. We are carried to the times of the Boston 
Massacre, and made familiar with the patriot worthies, James Otis and Samuel Adams. 
Nor here alone. Their gilded forms and autographs are impressed externally upon 
the work ; and on its back behold — 

" Lo, Faneuil's dome ! where Freedom's infant days 
Learned the first notes of liberty to raise. 
■Where the first Otis trod the paths of fame, 
And dropt his mantle when he gave his name." 

South Boston Gazette. 

To the historiographer, the editor and the general student, the work is indispensa- 
ble ; and no one can pretend to even a tolerable knowledge of what Bostonians have 
done in reference to Revolutionary and political matters, without a careful perusal 
of its pages. To the young, who want to know what their ancestors have done, we 
commend the book we are noticing ; and the more aged will rise from its perusal with 
their memories refreshed and their minds revivified with a life-like restitution of the 
events of " auld lang syne." — Tyler's Herald. 

A readable book, not only for Bostonians, to whom, of course, it has a special inter- 
est, but for all the lovers of biographical anecdote and personal gossip. The plan of 
the work is somewhat fanciful, embracing brief specimens of the orations that have 
been delivered to " the solid men of Boston," from the massacre by the British sol- 
diers, March 5, 1770, to the 4th of July, 1851. These are accompanied with racy 
sketches of the lives of their authors, and a profusion of historical and social remin- 
iscences, extending over a period of eighty years, foi'ming a curious and amusing 
memorial of many of the Massachusetts mighty men of renown. — JV. Y. Tribune. 

We regard this as a valuable historical work, and one which all Americans, and 
more especially all Bostonians, wUl do well to possess. ' Beginning with the Boston 
Massacre, it gives striking extracts from all the most important patriotic addresses 
delivered in Boston down to the year 1852, with biographical notices of the speakers, 
containing a great amount of curious and valuable information. — Christian Reg- 
ister. 

Chapman, the London bookseller, advertises a long list of American books, among 
which we observe " The Hundred Orators of Boston," " Works of Daniel AVebster," 
" Speeches of Robert C. Winthrop," &c. At the beginning of the advertisment, the 
following significant sentences appear : "To PRorRiEXORS of English Copyrights. — 
Mr. Chapman believes that the works advertised in this list are original American 
works ; but, should any of them be found to contain English copyright matter, they 
will at once be withdrawn from sale. Mr. C. will be obliged to English publishers 
who will intimate to him cases of this kind, and he will be happy to afford every facil- 
ity for examining suspected works." — Home Journal. 



